Action Must Be Taken Against Encroachers
Steps to check encroachment of reserved sites, to improve water supply and control mosquito breeding were the major demands made by councillors at the Coimbatore Corporation Council’s meeting on Thursday. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member P. Rajkumar called upon Mayor R. Venkatachalam and Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra to initiate criminal action against persons or groups that forge documents and layout plans to encroach upon reserved sites. He was referring to one such case detected in the city.
Alleging that a syndicate was at work to take over reserved sites by indulging in various types of malpractices, the councillor said this problem could be ended if at least one person was punished severely. He also demanded steps to end the menace of anti-socials abusing parks on reserved sites. Mr. Rajkumar wanted the Corporation to make use of around Rs.100 crore with the Local Planning Authority (LPA) for development works in the city. Apart from the Rs.40 crore that the Corporation had given to the LPA, the authority had some more funds for infrastructure works in the city.
North Zone Chairman and Communist Party of India member C. Padmanabhan said that for the last 10 years no scheme road had been laid in the city. There was no point in scheme roads and other infrastructure being discussed only at meeting convened by the District Collector (who is also the LPA’s Chairman). Infrastructure for the city must be discussed in the Corporation Council or at least at all-party meetings of the Corporation. Mr. Padmanabhan also wanted the water supply department to look into problems in distribution in the eastern parts of the city such as Singanallur.
Congress member P. Shobana complained that drinking water supply through lorries was irregular in the newly regularised layouts in her ward (No.4). In many areas, the supply was once in 15 or 20 days. Quite a number of areas did not have main lines for water supply. If some areas did have these, the cross connections to the houses were yet to be given. She wanted the Corporation to speed up the process of providing the water lines in her ward. At the start of the meeting, Deputy Mayor N. Karthik drew the attention of the members and the officials to the drinking water position.
“We are getting only 53 million litres a day (mld) even under the Pilloor scheme (as against the assured supply of 65 mld),” he said, pointing at a situation wherein the so-long surplus scheme was now under stress because of the rise in the demand for water. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member R. Sivamurugesan wanted more bore wells sunk and the existing ones kept in good condition to tide over any crisis that might come this summer.
