Corp Vs PMD
The Valankulam is among the eight tanks in the city that the Corporation wants to take control of to improve their condition.The Coimbatore Corporation is upset at the resistance it has run into from the Public Works Department (PWD) over its move to take over nine tanks in the city. The Corporation wants to take control of these water bodies to revive and conserve them under the Rejuvenation of Water Bodies project of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The civic body has drawn up a Rs.127-crore plan for this and is preparing to submit it to the mission directorate in New Delhi for clearance. The Corporation had engaged Action for Food Production as its consultant to study the condition of the tanks and submit a report that will serve as an action plan for rejuvenation. The tanks are polluted by sewage. Hyacinth that feeds on sewage has covered most of these tanks. The other problems the tanks face are encroachment by slum dwellers and the dumping of garbage and debris.The Corporation says it will build houses for re-locating the slum dwellers. This will rid the tanks of encroachments. The underground drainage scheme and sewage treatment project will end the discharge of untreated waste water.Apart from these, the Corporation will also take up efforts to strengthen the bunds of the tanks, de-silt and beautify them.
But, what has upset the Corporation is the Minister for Public Works Durai Murugan’s categorical statement that the tanks cannot be handed over to the Corporation. The Minister told after a function here on Saturday that the Corporation did not have experts in water resources management that the PWD had.As for the funds that are to be spent on the rejuvenation of the tanks, the Minister said that the money could be deposited with the PWD and that it could execute the works.Mayor R. Venkatachalam said on Sunday that the mission guidelines would not allow such a system where the funds allocated to the Corporation could be handed over to another agency.
The Corporation must be the implementing agency, as the civic body had been chosen by the Union Urban Development Ministry for the mission schemes.Admitting that there was a fear of funds loss for the project because of this stand by the PWD, the Mayor said that yet another attempt would be made by the civic body for the takeover of the tanks. The Mayor was upset that the rejection of the Corporation’s move had come from the Minister in charge of the PWD.“We will appeal to the Government constantly and make special efforts during the Assembly session to get a favourable decision,” Mr. Venkatachalam said.The Mayor pointed out that the tanks had never been maintained properly at all for a long time.“Only Siruthuli de-silted the tanks and not the PWD. Everyone knows this,” he said.
“Tanks are not mere water bodies that can recharge groundwater with a good storage. They can also be recreation centres. Walkers’ paths can be laid around the tanks, especially when there is a demand for these from fitness conscious people of the city,” he said.Earlier this month, the Mayor had submitted a memorandum to Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy, seeking orders for the transfer of control of the water bodies in the city to the Corporation.The memorandum had listed the rejuvenation measures the Corporation wanted to take and also made a specific mention of the PWD’s stand that the civic body hand over to it the mission funds. The memorandum also said that on July 23, 2007, the Corporation Council had passed a resolution to request for the takeover of the tanks as these were not being maintained properly.
The memorandum also pointed out that the encroachment of the tanks had taken place over many years when these had not been under the control of the civic body, but of the PWD.In fact, only the Corporation was given the task of providing medical aid and space for rehabilitation for the people in the encroached areas whenever water level in the tanks rose.With funds to re-locate them, the Corporation would be in an ideal position to maintain the tanks also, it said.The Mayor said that it would not be impossible for the Corporation to carry out periodical maintenance. The lack of experts could not be held against the civic body. The Government had allowed the Corporation to appoint officials and staff exclusively to carry out the JNNURM schemes.Therefore, the Corporation would certainly be in a position to keep the tanks in a good condition, he said.
