Latest news with #ChitraVijayan
Time of India
5 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Madurai corpn cracks down on construction dust violations
Cleared/335 Words Madurai: Amid mounting complaints over dust and debris from construction sites, Madurai corporation has issued a directive to builders, mandating the use of green safety nets to cover ongoing construction activities and material-laden vehicles. The civic body warned that uncovered sites and demolition works pose serious environmental hazards, threaten public safety, and disrupt traffic flow. Violators will face penalties and legal action. Corporation commissioner Chitra Vijayan told TOI that fines will be enforced as complaints continue to rise. Despite these measures, the city's efforts to handle construction and demolition (C&D) waste remain stalled. More than three years after announcing a 6 crore project to establish a C&D waste processing plant, the corporation has yet to finalise an agency to execute it. The plant, proposed in 2022, was to be set up at Vellaikal with the capacity to process 100 tonnes of waste per day under a public private partnership (PPP) model on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) basis. In addition to the main facility, three collection centres were proposed at Vellaikal, Kochadai, and Gatelock Road. Once operational, the plant would recycle debris into paver blocks, kerb stones, tiles, and brick dust — materials that could be reused in corporation works or sold in the market if there's surplus production. Officials said the initiative was designed to reduce illegal dumping and generate revenue for the civic body. However, illegal dumping continues unchecked in several parts of the city, particularly in housing board areas in Villapuram and Anupanadi, Ismailpuram, Bethaniyapuram, and Annaiyur. Despite imposing fines of up to 10,000 on violators and deploying zonal engineers to monitor activity, the issue persists, said officials. M Rajan, chief of Vaigai Nathi Makkal Iyakkam, said the problem started during the Smart City projects. "Much of the construction waste from Smart City works was dumped near the riverbank in Bethaniyapuram. That area is now being used by private builders too," he said. Rajan said that the unchecked dumping not only makes commutes unpleasant but also contributes to deteriorating air quality in several localities. Graphic Input Total amount of construction waste generated in Madurai: Around 150 tonnes per day Processing capacity of the plant: 100 tonnes per day Cost of processing one tonne of waste: Around Rs2,500- Rs4,500 Products obtained out of processing: Tiles, paver blocks, kerb stones, and brick dust Authorised construction waste collection centres: 1. Kochadai yard 2. Gatelock Road yard 3. Vellaikal yard
Time of India
20-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Madurai corpn taps ad agencies to light up city roads
Madurai: In a bid to address complaints about dimly lit streets and ease financial strain, the Madurai Corporation has roped in private advertising agencies to install and maintain streetlights along key city roads where hoardings are permitted. Under the new arrangement, agencies allowed to erect hoardings on stretches like Anna Nagar, K K Nagar, Kamarajar Salai, TPK Road, and Sellur must also install LED streetlights on the same poles. They will cover both installation and maintenance, as well as electricity costs — a move the corporation says benefits both public safety and its coffers. "Since these agencies seek permission for hoarding poles, we've asked them to mount lights on the same structures and ensure proper upkeep," corporation commissioner Chitra Vijayan told TOI. "Their electricity consumption will also be at their own expense, reducing the civic body's recurring costs." Officials noted that with limited staff and overlapping responsibilities in road and construction work, monitoring streetlights has been inconsistent. To address this, the corporation's town planning wing has integrated lighting responsibilities into advertising contracts. So far, three agencies have signed formal agreements to install lights along portions of Anna Nagar and K K Nagar. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Learn How To Write Faster for Work (Find Out Now) Grammarly Learn More Undo "These agreements include clauses mandating maintenance and electricity coverage," a senior official said. In K K Nagar, some lights have already been installed on central medians, a move welcomed by traffic activists. "Mounting lights on medians improves road visibility and pedestrian safety," said T Nageshwaran, a traffic activist. Meanwhile, the corporation is also pushing ahead with a ₹5-crore project to improve lighting citywide. A new contractor will soon be appointed to repair faulty lights and improve illumination in residential areas. Additionally, over 4,500 new streetlights are being procured based on ward-level assessments, with installation already underway in extended areas using previously purchased lights worth ₹3.52 crore. Officials said these combined efforts aim to make Madurai's streets safer, brighter, and more energy-efficient.
New Indian Express
19-07-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Corporation draws flak as Madurai ranks last in Swachh survey
MADURAI: With Madurai ranked last in the 40th place in Swachh Survekshan 2024 - 25 among cities having 10 lakh -population category, the city corporation has come in for severe criticism from activists. In response, the civic body has assured to work on the weaknesses and fare better next year. It is a small consolation that Madurai ranks third among TN cities, after Coimbatore and Chennai. Pointing out that the city has been given single digit rating in the waste management and processing category, activists said the corporation must take corrective measures immediately. K Jayachandran, a city based activist, said, "The corporation has established 38 micro composting centres (MCC) but only 30 centres are operational. Also, the MCCs are not fully utilised and hardly 40 - 50 tons of waste is processed on a daily basis. The centres have total capacity to process 190T of waste daily. The city corporation must utilise these MCCs better and improve processing rate." According to sources in the corporation, an average of 850 tonnes of waste is generated in the city daily. These are processed in 30 MCCs. Speaking about the measures the civic body has planned to implement to address the issues mentioned in the Swachh report, corporation commissioner Chitra Vijayan said, "All processes are being reviewed by officials and we will improve everything one by one. Madurai will have better results in the next survey." Corporation officials say they will increase the volume of waste processed at MCCs significantly. Also, the waste-to-energy plant that is proposed to be established in Vellakkal dump yard under CITIES 2.0 scheme will process over 600 tonnes of waste. Officials added that the implementation of these projects would improve waste generation and processing. As regards public toilets, the corporation has taken up renovation of several facilities across the city. Report Card Cleanliness of market areas, water bodies and residential areas - 100 % Waste generation & processing - 4% Cleanliness of public toilets - 3% Score - 4,823/12,500 marks Rank - 40 among 40 cities
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Time of India
Corpn suspends 6 bill collectors over property tax scam
1 2 Madurai: Madurai corporation on Tuesday suspended six bill collectors for allegedly tampering with property tax records on the Urban Tree Information System (UTIS) portal. The order was issued by corporation commissioner Chitra Vijayan following an internal review and amid a police investigation into widespread tax manipulation. The suspension of bill collectors P Karunakaran, M Kannan, K Ramalingam, P Ravichandran, P Aathimoolam, Ranjith Selvakumar, and Felix Rajamanickam comes a week after the resignation of all five zonal chairpersons over their alleged involvement in altering property tax data in the portal in exchange for favours, leading to significant revenue loss for the corporation. Notably, the same set of officials, except Karunakaran, was suspended earlier in Aug 2024 by the then commissioner, C Dinesh Kumar, when the scam was unearthed. However, the suspensions were later revoked following protests by the bill collectors' association. Recently, five temporary employees deployed in the revenue section were also suspended, and the contract of the manpower agency to the revenue department of the corporation was cancelled. The current probe, led by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Madurai city police, has intensified with the questioning of five zonal chairpersons who submitted their resignations last week on chief minister M K Stalin's directive. Police sources said that summons have been issued to at least seven more councillors and more bill collectors are under scrutiny. A senior corporation official confirmed that based on statements from the accused, one former assistant commissioner, who has since been transferred from Madurai, is also being questioned.
New Indian Express
05-07-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Madurai corporation replacing 1,200 streetlights every month
MADURAI: Faulty streetlights and poorly-lit areas -- often leading to road accidents -- across the 100 wards of the city corporation have become persistent problems for the residents, with 273 such complaints on the civic body's online portal yet to be addressed at present. Assuring that the issue is being closely monitored, corporation commissioner Chitra Vijayan said out of the over 61,000 streetlights in the city, on average, 2% (approximately 1,200) are being replaced every month. Issues related to streetlights are some of the frequently brought up during council meetings, and during the recent one, Zone V chairperson V Suvitha urged the corporation to upgrade the lights to high-voltage ones, citing poorly-lit areas in the zone, including Muthupatti. Several councillors urged the corporation to ensure adequate stocks are kept ready at all zones to immediately address streetlight issues. Similarly, residents alleged that smaller streets, unlike key junctions, are poorly lit, often causing mishaps. Chitra said, "The corporation recently floated seven tenders to install streetlights and high-intensity lights at multiple locations (Zone 1,2,3, and 5) in the city at a total cost of Rs 25 lakh," assuring immediate action on the issue. The city corporation carries out maintenance for all the streetlights across the wards through a private company.
