Tamil Nadu - Udhagamandalam   

Civic administration comes in for criticism

Udhagamandalam: The connivance of many of the members of the Udhagamandalam Municipal Council was facilitating the proliferation of encroachments in this hill station. This charge was made at a meeting of the Public Awareness Association of Udhagamandalam held here recently. By a resolution the meeting regretted that a footpath in Upper Bazaar which had been serving the public for several decades had been allowed by the council to be modified by a hotelier to benefit his institution.

Condemning the civic administration and the council for enabling an individual to benefit at the cost of the public, the association demanded appropriate action against the council. “It should be dissolved for flouting the rules”, it averred.

Recalling that the municipal commissioner had recently assured that encroachments inside the market would be removed once a week, the association alleged that on the contrary encroachers were being encouraged by officials. Steps should be taken forthwith to clear the market of encroachments. Through another resolutiion, the meeting urged the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption authorities to look into complaints relating to the appointments made recently in the municipality.

Adverting to the smuggling of ration rice, the association contended that though the lorries were seized and crew arrested, it was not known what action was being taken against the staff of the godowns or Public Distribution System outlets involved in the smuggling. The public have a right to know who was behind the racket.

Referring to the action being taken by the government against private engineering colleges which were fleecing the students, the association wanted similar action to be initiated against all the private educational institutions.

Expressing concern over the rate at which wild animals particularly tigers were killed at Mudumalai and surroundings, the association urged the government to constitute a high level committee to conduct a study. It resolved to request the people especially those belonging to the lower strata of society to make optimum use of the Right to Information Act to benefit from the various loan schemes being implemented by banks. All the burial grounds here should be provided with compound walls. The Vice-President of the Association Sreenivasan presided.

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