The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Taking shelter behind public-private partnership

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Thursday, Aug 21, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Taking shelter behind public-private partnership

K.Manikandan

A “model bus shelter” set up at Chromepet blazes a trail

— Photo: A. Muralitharan

Joint effort: The moffusil bus stand in Chromepet that was developed on the public-private partnership mode.

TAMBARAM: The concept of public-private partnership, in vogue for underground drainage and solid waste management projects, has been extended for provision of another civic amenity — bus shelters — in the southern suburbs of Chennai.

Two urban local bodies in the suburbs, Pallavaram Municipality and Sembakkam Town Panchayat, have embraced this concept that is bound to cause a ripple effect among other urban and rural local bodies..

A “model bus shelter” for mofussil buses bound for adjoining districts of Chennai was recently inaugurated by Labour Minister T. M. Anbarasan at Chromepet.

Detailing the project, Pallavaram Municipal Chairman E. Karunanidhi said there was a demand from commuters seeking provision of bus shelters in many places within the municipality. “If we were to build the bus shelters on our own, we would have to invest money from the general funds and also incur recurring expenditure in the form of periodical maintenance,” he added. That was when the elected council decided to go in for privatisation of bus shelters.

At more than a dozen locations, the municipality has tied up with private firms, both based in Pallavaram and in Chennai, for setting up bus shelters. The recently inaugurated mofussil bus shelter in Chromepet had accent on aesthetics, while ensuring passenger comfort and convenience. Though the local body would not get any revenue from the sponsoring private companies, it would be spared of the trouble of maintaining a crucial and much needed amenity.

A similar model has been implemented in Sembakkam Town Panchayat. Unlike permanent bus shelters of Pallavaram Municipality, the Sembakkam Town Panchayat has tied up with mobile phone service provider Vodafone to install portable bus shelters in 10 locations.

A.R.D. Loganathan, Chairman of the town panchayat, said the bus shelters were designed and executed by the mobile phone company and could be re-located elsewhere if the State Highways Department were to carry out widening or improvement works.

The facilities would provided shade to commuters waiting for buses of Metropolitan Transport Corporation on Velachery Main Road, he said.

Senior officials of the Department of Municipal Administration and Water Supply said the objective behind the public-private partnership on creation of such bus shelters was only the comfort of waiting commuters and not to augment the revenue of the respective local bodies. The Pallikaranai Town Panchayat too is planning to tie up with a private firm for creating bus shelters in 10 locations and it was waiting for the elected council to give its nod for the same, officials added.

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