Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

A step towards single agency control

K.V. Prasad

Corporation's move to take over maintenance of highways and tanks

SAD STATE: Valankulam is among the eight tanks in the city the Coimbatore Corporation wants to maintain. — PHOTO: S. SIVA SARAVANAN

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Corporation's move to take over the maintenance of more than 70 km of various highways in its limits and also tanks are in tune with the long-felt need to end multi-agency control over facilities. The Corporation Council passed on February 2 resolutions seeking control over these.

The move to take over the maintenance of the Siruvani water scheme is aimed at mainly saving the consumption tariff the civic body now pays to the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board and also maintenance cost.

On the other hand, it is the pace of repairs and maintenance that seems to determine the move for taking over the roads that are now under the control of the National Highways Authority of India, Department of National Highways and the Department of State Highways.

A number of such roads run through the city. The Corporation has been upset that delay in repairs to the highways often earns it public wrath because the people do not know who maintain the roads.

Corporation officials say it is difficult to make people understand that the civic body cannot carry out repairs to Avanashi Road or Thadagam Road as they come under the control of the highways. And, it is only natural for the public to be upset with the Corporation when the general feeling is that the civic body is responsible for everything on its territory.

Impediment

Multiple agency control on water, drainage and roads are seen as a severe impediment to uniform maintenance of these amenities. At present, the city never sees repairs within a specific period by all the agencies.

The Corporation had, a few years ago, requested for taking over those stretches of Avanashi Road and Tiruchi Road that fell within its limits. But, these were not handed over to it. The latest move to take over many other roads, including 13 that came under the State Highways, comes in view of the Corporation embarking on massive infrastructure schemes under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

The main reason for the takeover is attributed to the scheme for revamping the road transport system. The Corporation has planned a Bus Rapid Transit System that envisages an exclusive lane for buses that will run on tracks.

If these modern transportation systems also come under the control of the Corporation, it will mark another step towards a single agency control of amenities. This had already been envisaged in the City Corporate Plan the Corporation wanted to implement in 1998. The World Bank funded scheme called for ending multiple agency control, stating that it caused imbalance in the maintenance of core municipal services.

Even now, the Corporation does not look to bring telecom and power supply under its control. That leaves two major services under two other agencies. Digging of newly re-laid roads for laying telephone lines and erecting poles for power lines is a problem people and the Corporation continue to battle.

The Corporation is planning ducts along roads for power, telephone and television cable lines. The civic body feels that only this can overcome the difficulties that may persist owing to multiple agency control.

Another significant move is the one to take over the maintenance of eight tanks in the city. At present, these are under the control of the Public Works Department.

The Corporation faces the task of ending abuse of the water resources in the form of discharge of sewage and dumping of garbage. With a scheme under the mission for the rejuvenation of these resources, the Corporation is faced with the task of maintaining these.

This is in the interest of re-charging the groundwater table. These are Krishnampathy Tank, Selvampathy Tank, Kumarasamy Tank (also known as Muthannankulam), Narasampathy Tank, Periakulam (at Ukkadam), Valankulam, Selvachinthamani Tank and Singanallur Tank.

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