COIMBATORE: It is good news for 533 unapproved layouts in the city - the Coimbatore Corporation decided on Thursday to provide water connections to every house. Works to lay main supply lines at a cost of Rs. 5 crores will begin soon.

At a meeting attended by Mayor T. Malaravan, Commissioner Anil Meshram, Deputy Mayor K. Raghupathy, senior officials and party leaders in the Corporation Council, the Corporation decided to provide roads, streetlights and drainage in the next phase. The decision follows a G.O. that provides for amenities in these layouts based on the amount of development charges paid. The order states that layouts formed before 1980 are to be treated as approved layouts and amenities provided.

Inadequate amenities

There are 153 such layouts that were added to the city and 380 others were formed since 1980. The Corporation has collected Rs. 10.76 crores as development charges. Sources in the Corporation said that of the 153 layouts formed before 1980, 131 had insufficient amenities while 22 had no amenities such as roads, streetlights, drainage and drinking water. As for the other layouts, 84 had paid 50 per cent of the development charges, 15 had paid 75 per cent and eight had remitted 90 per cent. Four layouts had paid 100 per cent of the charges. But, the Corporation would take up work in all the layouts, even as it collected the rest of the charges from the residents.

The Mayor told The Hindu that the civic body would not make payment of the charges as a pre-condition to laying the pipelines. "We will collect the charges even as the lines are being drawn and connections released. Actually, the residents are willing to pay the charges as everyone needs water." The Corporation would release an announcement in newspapers soon about the works to be taken up immediately. It would also ask the residents in these layouts to prepare for paying development charges and the deposit for water connections. Mr. Malaravan said that through this measure, the Corporation could save Rs. 1 crore it now spent every year on providing water in lorries to the layouts. "Besides, the development charge, water connection deposit and consumption charge will fetch revenue for the Corporation."

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