CHENNAI: Cutting across party lines, over 1,000 men and women from the Manali New Town Residents Welfare Association took part in a daylong protest, pressing their demand that the township should be made into a Special Panchayat.

The association secretary, T. Martin, said the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) and the Tamil Nadu Housing Board, created it as a satellite city township for the labourers and the economically weaker section of people working in the Manali industries. "But a proposal made in 1998 to convert the township into a town panchayat was scrapped as per G.O. 439," he said. But the conversion into a town panchayat did not make headway.

In 2002, the Minister for Local Administration was approached to categorise the township as a special grade town panchayat.

Instead, the Government decided to annexe the township to three village panchayats — Idaiyanchavadi, Sadaiyankuppam and Kadapakkam.

Only a votebank

"With two councillors and 12 ward members, the people here are being used only as a vote bank without their being provided any basic amenities," said J. Sundari, member of the third ward in Idaiyanchavadi. J.V. Kuberan of Ward 5 said,

No funds

"Though we have won the local body elections, we are not able to get any funds. The Government can at least give us a Special Panchayat status," he said.

Another resident said that despite getting the allotment and settling in the township 25 years ago, they had not received the sale deed for their houses. Residents noted that the CMDA had advertised that the model township offered low-cost housing, direct LPG connection from Madras Refineries Limited (now Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited), broad roads, rail and road connectivity to Chennai, public parks, college and industrial training institutes, play grounds, a market, bus shelter, primary, middle, high and higher secondary schools, public health centre and hospitals, community hall and much more.

"We bought our houses lured by the advertisements. Today we feel let down," a resident said.

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