Greater Coimbatore by ICCIC
A request to the Tamil Nadu Government to constitute a Greater Coimbatore Development Authority (GCDA) to ensure planned growth of the city has been made by the President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore (ICCIC), Mr D. Balasundaram.He also made a plea to the State Government to notify the proposed development control rules, which he wanted the builders and real estate developers to adhere to voluntarily.Speaking at the annual general meeting of the ICCIC, he said any haphazard growth of the city and the region would undermine their economic growth and affect the quality of life of the residents. To regulate the growth of the city, he wanted the State Government to constitute a statutory authority — GCDA — to plan and implement a plan for the development of the Coimbatore region.Referring to the reported plan of the State Government to formulate rules regarding the construction of buildings and formation of residential layouts, the ICCIC President pointed out that the Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC) had already submitted detailed proposals, prepared with expert guidance, to the State Government. He wanted the Government to accept and notify them early.
He advised the people of the city, mainly the businessmen and real estate developers, to stick to the rules and warned that any unplanned growth of Coimbatore would ultimately affect the business and the property prices.He said it was a collective responsibility of the citizens and not merely of the administration to keep the city clean and the roads safe for travel.Referring to the proposed master plan for Coimbatore under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) to improve the quality of life of the citizens here, Mr Balasundaram said there could be opposition to the levy of user charges.But he pointed out that without the beneficiaries sharing part of the burden, the schemes could not take off. While he wanted the beneficiaries to shoulder part of the project cost, he said any attempt to cross-subsidise the expenses by putting excessive burden on commercial establishments `should be resisted'.
On the protest for acquisition of agricultural lands for infrastructure development in the region, he reasoned that the real reason seemed to be the low price fixed by the Government for lands acquired and the delay in payment. He urged the Government to evolve quickly a method to determine the compensation, and quicken payments. The Government should pay at least the market price, and possibly a premium,and consider the recovery of part of the acquisition cost from the beneficiaries of the developmental works. This would help reduce the resistance to land acquisition.
He said the steps taken by the RBI and the Government of India have led to an increase in interest rates and appreciation of the rupee, and the industry that had planned on expansion now faced problems in getting finances at affordable rates.The exporters were `seriously worried' about the appreciation of the Indian currency and he feared that it might `make their operations unprofitable, or even push them into the red'.He said some of the suppliers abroad had hiked the prices of commodities imported by India, thus nullifying the impact of the rupee appreciation, and argued that the Government should not let `market forces alone' determine the value of the rupee when China was offering its currency at a `discount'.
