Greater Chennai Corporation councillors raise alarms over road cuts, water contamination; Council passes 135 resolutions
This was after Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) councillor S. Jeevan (ward 35) said, 'People are charged ₹5,200 for one metre of road cut, plus 18% GST, which goes to a private agency. Only ₹7,500 for sewage and water supply connections goes to the CMWSSB... The actual cost for digging is only ₹1,200 to ₹1,700. When ward officials confronted private workers, a tussle ensued, as the private employees did not respect the officials... Despite such frequent cuts to address pipeline problems, the drinking water supply still mixes with sewage water, even in my home in Ward 35 and in Kannadasan Nagar. Recently, manholes overflowed on Krishnamoorthy Salai... Outsourcing should be avoided and GCC should mobilise its own workforce,' he added.
The Mayor replied that the GST has been levied for the past three months. 'Authorities will examine the issue and submit a report,' she added.
Later, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Councillor R. Stella Jasmine Rathna (Ward 128) said the cement roads in Indira Nagar, Gandhi Nagar and Sadic Batcha Street roads were relaid 15 years ago, the patchwork done by CMWSSB is not of good quality and the public have reported to have skid on these roads dangerously causing accidents. 'When we asked for proper tar (bituminous) roads to be laid, officials stated that paver machines would not be able to enter narrow lanes. This has been going on for three years.'
Pointing out similar issues, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) councillor T. Sathyanathan (Ward 148) said in 2009 water supply lines were laid and retender was issued in 2012 after multiple leakages. He said, 'Roads have been relayed in many places. But, owing to leakages again from the pipeline, they have been damaged. It is not clear if GCC or CMWSSB must repair the damaged lanes.'
The Deputy Mayor suggested that a coordination meeting be done.
135 resolutions passed
A total of 135 resolutions were passed at the council meeting, including the construction of two goshalas in Ward 83 of ambattur Zone (VII) at Railway Station Road for ₹1.98 crore, another in Ward 194 of Zone 15 near the BIO-CNG plant behind the ISKCON temple for ₹2.43 crore, both under Capital Funds. Also, a cattle shed was proposed in Ward 184 of Zone 14 at Kattabomman Cross Street for ₹2.25 crore. Further, two animal birth control (ABC) centers —one in Sholinganallur (Ward 198) for ₹2.3 crore near the BIO-CNG plant and another in Alandur (Ward 158) for ₹8.32 crore on M.G.R. Salai under Capital Funds were approved for construction by GCC council.
The Council further approved that Chennai schools would be eligible to appoint one teaching assistant for every 20 students and one ayah for every 50 students in LKG and UKG classes. Each teaching assistant would receive ₹14,150 per month, while each ayah would be paid ₹10,450 monthly. The total expenditure for the year was stated as ₹8.06 crore for core city schools and ₹5.41 crore for the added areas, according to GCC.
Further, the GCC plans to deploy 1,822 sanitation workers in 510 schools under Self Help Group (SHG) and NULM schemes, with a monthly wage of ₹753 per day, the release stated.
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