CHENNAI: The AIADMK and the Opposition parties in the Chennai Corporation Council blamed each other for the lack of progress in various flyover and subway projects at the council meeting here on Thursday.

The meeting held at the civic headquarters was to discuss the budget tabled by the Corporation on Wednesday.

The DMK, the Congress, the BJP and other Opposition party members said the civic agency had discussed plans for several bridges and flyovers in the past four years, but nothing had progressed beyond the drawing board. The AIADMK had been critical of the previous DMK regime for the nine flyovers constructed in the city, but had failed to execute any major project. Traffic snarls were common on several arterial roads.

The AIADMK councillors responded saying several projects were awaiting the clearance of the Railway Board.

Despite making allocations in the previous budgets, they were unable to proceed for want of clearance. The civic agency allotted Rs. 22.6 crore last year for construction of bridges but revised its estimates to Rs. 7.5 crore. The money spent in 2004-05 for bridges was just Rs.10 lakhs out of the overall capital expenditure of Rs. 135 crore.

Proposals involving the Corporation and the Railways include railway over-bridges on the Kathivakkam-Cochrane Basin Road and at the Rangarajapuram level crossing; railway under-bridges at the Korukkupet level crossing, Villivakkam and on Monegar Choultry Road, Royapuram. The six-hour discussions on the budget were peaceful. despite some tense moments. T. Vijayaramakrishna of the AIADMK, who conducted the meeting in the absence of Deputy Mayor R. Thiagarajan, pacified councillors of both the ruling and Opposition parties on a few occasions. The meeting ended abruptly with the eviction of five DMK councillors followed by a walkout by most of the Opposition members.

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