The corporation hopes to bring the entire city under the
Combined Drinking Water Supply Scheme by the end of May. By then, the
civic body will be in a position to pump 60 million litres of water
daily to all the 50 overhead tanks, including 37 newly-constructed ones.
Trial testing was in progress for pumping water along the newly-laid
massive pipelines to 30 overhead tanks, and the rest of the tanks were
in stages of completion.

By this month-end, testing
will be completed for all the new overhead tanks, Corporation
Commissioner V.P. Dhandapani, said at a meeting of the council convened
for a follow-up discussion on the budget on Thursday. New drinking water
pipelines have been laid to a length of 85 km, he informed.

The project has so far been carried out with the Japanese loan of Rs.111 crore, and government subsidy of Rs.66 crore.

The
corporation has to mobilise Rs. 43 crore for meeting the rest of the
expenditure, Mr. Dhandapani said, seeking to drive home the point that
reform agenda specified for local bodies necessitates the corporation to
meet 20 per cent of the expenditure for large projects.

Going
by the City Development Plan drawn up for deriving the utility of
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the
corporation will have to mobilise Rs.1,320 crore as its 20 per cent
share, he said, adding that ideally, the corporation has to generate 75
per cent of its budget requirements as against 50 per cent at present.

As
revenue generation has remained stagnant for 15 years, the corporation
will contemplate earning revenue under the public-private partnership
mode for future projects by way of identifying beneficiaries through
tender process and collecting advance from them, thereby demonstrating
viability to funding agencies, he said.

Earlier,
former deputy mayor M.Anbalagan and several other DMK councillors
criticised the budget and termed it a failure for burdening the people
and the rising deficit. Mr. Anbalagan was critical of privatisation of
garbage collection and disposal and maintenance of streetlights,
reasoning out that councillors will not be in a position to monitor
their performance. The budget was a disappointment also on the fronts of
drinking water and sanitation, he said.

Most of the
DMK members sought to know if the corporation was serious about the
integrated bus stand project. Members also complained that various parks
were in pathetic condition and required immediate attention.

Chairman
of Ariyamangalam zone J. Srinivasan countered the charges saying that
the corporation was performing well with substantial financial support
from the State government. Proposals for water theme park at Panjapur
and a science park have evoked widespread appreciation from the public.
Tax collection to the extent of 96 per cent in Srirangam zone was an
achievement, he said.

Mayor A. Jaya announced that
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa will soon commission the Combined Drinking
Water Supply Scheme, and unveil plans for the integrated bus stand for
the city and a bus stand for Srirangam, besides other projects.