The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Civic front: initiatives, delays and hopes

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Tuesday, Jan 01, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Civic front: initiatives, delays and hopes

J. Malarvizhi

2007 ends with some works unfinished, ringing in 2008 with reinforced expectations

CHENNAI: Several hundred crores of rupees have been poured into developing infrastructure in the city over the last year.

Flyovers, grade separators, highways and several infrastructural and development projects were taken up in the past calendar year.

However, delays in the completion of large projects such as the Kathipara and Padi junction flyovers leave Chennaiites hoping that the fruits of this expenditure will be theirs to experience, in 2008 at least.

Corporation’s initiatives

In 2007, the Chennai Corporation improved and inaugurated several parks in the city.

Corporation schools received a lot of attention with many new initiatives such as scholarships and yoga classes for children, introduction of curriculum that draws extensively from the Montessori system and distribution of fruit bread.

A total of 110 classrooms were built in schools run by the civic body.

The local body made the ‘vettiyaans’ at crematoria its employees.

Other projects that local body representatives are proud of include setting up of 10,000 new streetlights and the 62 kilometres of stormwater drains constructed at a cost of Rs. 18 crore.

About Rs. 52 crore has been spent on roads and medians have been set up at 64 locations.

Draft Master Plan

The Second Draft Master Plan was finalised following some public consultations by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) this year.

On the downside, CMDA enforcement work was suspended following the government ordinance maintaining status quo on unauthorised constructions.

Garbage clearance

The handover of garbage clearance at Mylapore, Kodambakkam and Ice House zones to Neel Metal Fanalca from Onyx was anything but smooth.

Residents had to deal with accumulating garbage spilling onto roads and streets for a few days, before the contractor acquired the required machines, dustbins and expertise.

The extensive stormwater drain construction and desilting drive that the Chennai Corporation claimed to have conducted did little to prevent water stagnation in some parts of the city during the few days of rain the city experienced in the later half of 2007.

Delay in projects

Several projects scheduled for completion in 2007 have been delayed.

The Kathipara and Padi grade separators were both given a completion date of April 2007 that was later postponed to December, which has also come and gone.

The proposed 13-km-long four-lane highway from Maduravoyal to Madhavaram would have an elevated highway over the Ambattur Third Main Road for a distance of 3 km and a road overbridge at Pattravakkam Railway Station. The two-lane highway between Tambaram and Maduravoyal is to be widened to four lanes.

These projects were given a November 2007 deadline that has not been kept.

The Koyambedu grade separator and flyover outside the Meenambakkam airport are other projects behind schedule.

In the pipeline

Better water supply in all the areas and decrease in road traffic congestion are among the things that residents can look forward to in 2008.

The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board would be taking up strengthening of the water distribution network and work on a desalination project near Minjur is set to commence this year. Water supply is sufficient until the next monsoon.

Several flyovers are expected to be completed in the coming year within the city. Work is on at the mini-flyover project at the Turn Bulls Road–Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar Road intersection.

Flyover work

Mayor M. Subramanian said early in December that work on the flyover on the North Usman Road would be completed by February this year.

He had also estimated that work on the flyovers at South Usman Road and G.N. Chetty Road would be completed in June and September 2008.

He has also said that work on six flyovers and subways would begin this month. Contractors have been identified for the construction of subways at Villivakkam level-crossing and MC Road level-crossing and a flyover at Kathivakkam Cochrane Basin Road level-crossing in North Chennai.

High-level meeting proposed

The local body also proposed to hold a high-level meeting this month to set up joint committees between the Corporation and other service agencies to ensure better implementation of projects.

The Chennai Corporation has commenced work on or awarded tenders for 52 projects at an estimated cost of Rs. 890 crore, Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said.

Beautification of Beaches in city

Beautification of the Marina, Elliot’s and Thiruvanmiyur beaches, multi-level parking on Greams Road, Broadway and T. Nagar, modernisation of bus stops, construction of escalators and setting up e-seva maiyyam are other projects scheduled for 2008.

The Pulianthope zone is also likely to be handed over to Neel Metal Fanalca for garbage clearance.

The Mayor had said that problems had been sorted out and that discussion with the government about the move would commence this month.

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