COIMBATORE: Despite the hue and cry from the public about the haphazard
implementation of various state and central government schemes,
Coimbatore Municipal Corporation has been honoured as the best
performing corporation in the state outweighing nine other municipal
corporations in the state, including Chennai.

City mayor SM Velusamy received the honour citation from the chief minister J Jayalalithaa
at the state government function held in Chennai on Wednesday. The
corporation has also been awarded a cash prize of Rs25lakhs for its
achievement.

“It is a matter of great pride and honour for Coimbatore Corporation,” said T K Ponnusamy, commissioner, Coimbatore Corporation. According to senior corporation officials, what clinched the honour for
the corporation was the high revenue collection, which came to around
88%. The chief minister’s office had sent a 15 point questionnaire to
the municipal corporation officials a few weeks back which was to be
sent back after including the major achievements of the civic body from
all departments.

Surprisingly, the record of the JnNURM
schemes was also part of the evaluation format including the
implementation of the e-governance scheme and the restoration of roads.
The solid waste management project of the city corporation was also
included as a major achievement of the corporation. The officials
claimed that JnNURM projects were only about 20% complete during the
term of the previous council and it picked up pace after the new council
took over in October last. “The ongoing Geographical Information Survey
( GIS) project was also included in the list of achievements of the corporation,” said another official.
The city corporation has called for an emergency meeting of the council
of its elected representatives on Thursday to make an official
announcement of the achievement.