Race Course is now Corp's eagle eye
The Race Course area in the city where the Coimbatore Corporation wants to regulate construction of buildings.The Coimbatore Corporation’s move to regulate the construction of buildings for commercial purposes and multi-storeyed residential apartments in Race Course has run into resistance from a section of its elected Council.The Corporation wants to ban the construction of these structures as it feels that an essentially residential area is gradually sought to be turned into a commercial hub. The Corporation has issued a draft notification in newspapers, seeking the views of the public on this move.It said interested persons could file their objects and suggestions in writing within three months from the date of the publication of the notification (November 28, 2007).The notification also said that the Council had passed a resolution on September 25, providing for a ban on any further construction of commercial and multi-storeyed buildings as defined under the zoning regulations notified through a Government Order (of the Rural Development and Local Administration Department) dated July 24, 1974 and the Multi-storeyed and Public Building Rules of 1973.
The notification said that while the construction of these buildings would not be allowed, those in other categories or of a specific architectural character or for some particular purposes would need the special permission of the Corporation Commissioner.As of now, the Corporation would allow the construction of private and Government buildings for which approval had already been obtained.When the Corporation moved the resolution at its September Council meeting, Mayor R. Venkatachalam explained the need for the move by pointing out that a serene Race Course was becoming congested.
Many commercial establishments had already come up along the 2.5 km circular Race Course Road.If this went unchecked, one of the oldest residential areas that had the city’s only walkers’ path for the fitness-conscious would become too congested to live in. The regulations the Corporation planned sought to ban constructions of high-rise structures up to Avanashi Road on one side and almost up to Tiruchi Road on the other.Curiously, more forceful resistance to the move was witnessed only at Monday’s meeting of the Council, more than two months after the resolution was passed.
Brief discussions on the issue at the recent Council meeting revealed there was resistance from the Town Planning Committee itself. Communist Party of India (Marxist) member C. Padmanabhan observed that “Race Course has become a political issue."When there was confusion over whether Race Course had a residential or commercial status, the Council should take a fresh look at the earlier resolution.Corporation Commissioner P. Muthuveeran told the members that what was released in the newspapers was only a draft notification. Views of the public had been sought and therefore it did not reflect a final decision to ban the structures.
