The Hindu 20.11.2010
Vellore Corporation owes TNEB Rs. 8 crore by way of charges
VELLORE: Electricity charges to the tune of Rs.eight crore are due to be paid by the Vellore Corporation to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), according to K.R. Selvaraj, Commissioner of the Corporation.
The Commissioner gave this information in reply to a question from R. Arunachalam (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), 30th ward councillor of the Corporation at the ordinary monthly meeting of the Corporation here on Friday. Mr. Arunachalam said that the Vellore Corporation was unable to implement the scheme of supply of water through motorised borewell pumps, to provide new street lights or effect extension of existing lines in view of the refusal of the TNEB to provide service connection to the motorised borewell pumpsets and street lights on account of the outstanding arrears in payment of the dues.
The MDMK councillor further pointed out that the Corporation's dues had mounted in view of its failure to collect the consumption-based electricity user charges regularly from the Sathuvachari Municipality and the Nandhiyalam and Alamelu Mangapuram village panchayats for utilising the drinking water pumped from the confluence of the Ponnai and Palar rivers daily under the Integrated Drinking Water Supply Project for Vellore Corporation, Sathuvachari Municipality and wayside panchayats, which were beneficiaries of the of the project.
He suggested that the Vellore Corporation could stop pumping water under the Ponnai scheme in order to force the Sathuvachari Municipality and the wayside village panchayts to pay up the arrears.
If they paid the electricity arrears, the Vellore Corporation would be able to pay the dues to the TNEB, thus facilitating service connections to the motorised borewells, new street lights and line extensions.
Mr. Selvaraj said that if the Vellore Corporation were able to get a daily yield of 100 lakh litres of water from the Karugambuthur, Palar and Otteri headworks, then it would be in a position to stop pumping of water from the Ponnai scheme.
Srinivasa Gandhi (Congress), 25th ward councillor, complained that the stray dog menace is rampant in his ward. Serious steps had to be taken to curb the menace, he said.
The Commissioner said that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Act prohibited the killing of animals.
But, the Corporation could undertake sterilisation measures in order to prevent the growth in the dog population, and to administer anti-rabies injections to the dogs in order to prevent them from being afflicted with rabies, and thus prevent human beings from getting the disease.
Mr. Arunachalam said that the Corporation should also take stern steps to curb the stray cattle menace in Vellore.
V. Govindan, Corporation Health Officer said that the Corporation was currently engaged in gathering division-wise lists of owners of stray cattle so that the lists could be forwarded to the police department for action against them for causing nuisance to the public by allowing their cattle to stray into the roads, thus causing serious traffic hazards to the road users.
P. Karthikeyan, Mayor of Vellore, who presided, said that the fine imposed on owners of stray cattle would be increased from Rs.500 to Rs.1000 so that it acted as a deterrent against their tendency to allow their cattle to roam in the roads.
Since the existing fine was too low, the owners paid the fine and continued to allow their cattle on the roads, he said.
