Several councillors of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Wednesday, May 28, raised concerns about repeated road cuts and the poor quality of restoration work in the council meeting held at the Ripon Buildings. The road works are being carried out by private contractors working with the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB).
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) councillor S Jeevan of Ward 35 alleged that residents were being overcharged for road-cutting works. “People are charged Rs 5,200 per metre for road cuts, plus 18% GST that doesn’t go to the Metro Water Board but to private contractors. The actual cost is only between Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,700 per metre. Despite these costs, many areas are still dealing with water contamination issues,” he said.
He cited several areas, including Kannadasan Nagar, Krishnamoorthy Nagar, and Srinivasa Perumal Kovil Street in Kodungaiyur, where sewage had contaminated drinking water or where only partial water supply was available. “Even in my house, the drinking water is mixed with sewage. The CMWSSB should stop outsourcing and get its own workforce,” he added.
Responding to his concerns, Chennai Mayor R Priya said that the levy of GST on road cuts had come into effect only in the past three months. “We have spoken to CMWSSB officials, and a meeting will soon be held with the Secretary of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, the Managing Director of CMWSSB, and the GCC Commissioner. A detailed report would be presented before the next council meeting,” she said.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) councillor R Stella Jasmine Rathna of Ward 128 cited the poor restoration work by CMWSSB in areas such as Indira Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, and Sadik Basha Street. “These cement roads were last laid 15 years ago, and the patchwork done by the board is not of proper quality. When we asked for proper roads, officials said paver machines couldn’t enter narrow streets. This is what they had been saying for three years,” she said.
Another DMK councillor S Shankar Ganesh of Ward 151, said that in areas like Subramaniya Swamy Nagar, SVS Nagar, SVS Nagar Annexe, Jai Garden, and Sairam Avenue, water connections have been stopped due to contamination.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) councillor T Sathyanathan of Ward 145 said that although pipelines were laid in 2009 and tenders were reissued in 2012, roads have been repeatedly dug up and damaged. “There is no clarity on whether GCC or CMWSSB is responsible for repairing these roads,” he added.
Deputy Mayor M Magesh Kumar has called a coordination meeting between officials of GCC and CMWSSB, along with engineers from each ward and zone, to address these issues.
Resolutions passed
At its council meeting on Wednesday, the GCC passed a total of 135 resolutions, covering civic infrastructure, public health, sanitation, and urban planning.
Concerns around the accessibility of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations were raised during the meeting. DMK councillor TV Shemmozhi (Ward 104) pointed out that many EV users live in crowded localities without home-charging facilities.
New EV charging stations are likely to be set up in Besant Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur (Adyar zone), Nageswara Rao Park, Marina Beach, Semmozhi Poonga (Teynampet zone), Bougainvillaea Park, Chetpet Eco Park (Anna Nagar), Somasundaram Ground, Natesan Park, Corporation Playground (Kodambakkam zone), Mangal Eri Park (Ambattur zone), and the National Art Gallery (Egmore zone).
The council also approved levying a 10% charge as entertainment tax on tickets for commercial events held in educational institutions such as schools and colleges.
Elections would soon be held for 15 Town Vending Committees (TVCs), with each zone representing 35,588 registered vendors. Each TVC will have 15 members as part of the Corporation’s effort to streamline street vending. In April, GCC had designated 150 vending and 188 non-vending zones.
Among the key proposals approved was the construction of two goshalas (cattle shelters) and a new cattle shed in Ward 184, Zone 14, at Kattabomman Cross Street, to be built at a cost of Rs 2.25 crore. Two new Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres were also approved under Capital Funds, one in Sholinganallur (Rs 2.3 crore) and another in Alandur (Rs 8.32 crore).
The Corporation would also float tenders to clean Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) tenements in Zones I to X, aiming to improve hygiene and living conditions.
Other resolutions include issuing patta to residential buildings constructed over 10 years ago on unobjectionable government poramboke land; renaming Ward 99 in the Anna Nagar zone as Purasawalkam - Rettamalai Srinivasan Nagar to honour Dalit icon 'Thatha' Rettamalai Srinivasan and installing a statue of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inside the Quaid-e-Millath Government Women's College campus in Anna Salai.