Corp's Political Issue
The Opposition in the Coimbatore Corporation is determined to make the civic body convene a special meeting of the Council and table a White Paper on the status of the Rs.3,186-crore infrastructure schemes proposed under the Jawaharlal National Urban Renewal Mission. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has demanded that the Corporation table the White Paper at least at the next Council meeting. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) insist that the special meeting should be held this month. “We have asked for the White Paper many times and there has been no response at all. We made a fresh demand at the last meeting of the Council, hoping that Mayor R. Venkatachalam and the Corporation will see reason in our demand,” says leader of the AIADMK in the Council P. Rajkumar.
Leader of the CPI(M) in the Council and Corporation North Zone Chairman C. Padmanabhan says: “There is total stagnation in the implementation of the schemes. There is no marked progress in the Integrated Solid Waste Management scheme, which is one of the major projects for the city.”
The CPI’s leader in the Council K. Purushothaman agrees with this view. “Barring the scheme for houses for slum dwellers, the others remain on paper. Other than the arrival of pushcarts, nothing seems to be moving in the waste management scheme,” he alleges. Leader of the Opposition and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) member attributes the stagnation to inadequate focus on the mission schemes. This will have to be brought to the notice of the State Government, he says.
Mr. Rajkumar says the Corporation has paid an advance cheque for Rs. 9 crore to contractors who will establish treatment plants for Rs. 89 crore, as part of the Rs. 377-crore underground drainage scheme. “But, not a brick seems to have moved to suggest that the works are on,” he says. Mr. Purshothaman points out that out of the five-year implementation period, three years have elapsed. And, only the Basic Services for Urban Poor scheme to provide houses to slum dwellers has taken off.
Mr. Padmanabhan laments that the Pilloor water scheme and the projects for the underground sewers and solid waste management have not progressed at all. “A lot of money is being wasted in calling for fresh tenders. This will have an impact on the next budget of the Corporation,” he warns. The Mayor says that all-out efforts are being made to speed up implementation. “Our aim is to implement all the schemes. The status of the mission schemes will be reviewed by Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin in Chennai on Wednesday.”
Mr. Rajkumar attributes the stagnation to the alleged lack of transparency in planning and implementing the scheme. “It all began with the flawed approach of vesting sky-high powers with the Corporation Commissioner. It had actually kept the elected body in the dark about many aspects of the mission. As a result, the people are also not fully informed of what is happening.”
Criticising the Corporation for signing the Memorandum of Agreement with the Union Urban Development Ministry without first placing it in the Council, Mr. Rajkumar alleged that the first step towards denying transparency was taken then. There should have been a full-fledged discussion on a draft agreement in the Council. Mr. Purushothaman says: “People refuse to believe us when we say that the schemes will be implemented. Let a special meeting be held to discuss the roadblocks and the ways to remove them.”
