COIMBATORE: Even as the city municipal corporation is gearing up for its budget
for 2013-14, some of the key projects announced in the previous budget
of the civic body are still caught in a state of limbo. While some are
in its initial stages of execution, some are yet to begin. Some of the
major budget announcements that have remained on paper include
construction of integrated bus stand, new council hall, vegetable
markets and library in each of the 100 wards. Major infrastructure
projects that figured in the 2012-13 budget of the corporation including
construction of over-bridges, skywalks, multi-level car parking
facilities are also still in the conceptualization stage and have been
restricted to mere newspaper announcements.

“The corporation is
taking measures to ensure the speedy completion of these works,” said a
senior city municipal corporation official.

The corporation
officials claimed that a Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared
for the integrated bus terminus at Gandhipuram, with extensive parking
space, after acquiring the nearby land available with the state home
department allotted to Coimbatore prison department. The integrated bus
stand will combine the inter-state, mofussil and town bus stands that
are presently installed at three different locations in Gandhipuram. The
corporation is planning to set up the bus stand in 10.38 acre space and
had allocated Rs 800 lakhs for bus stands in Gandhipuram, Kurichi and
Vadavalli in the previous budget. The bus stands at Vadavalli and
Kurichi are yet to be initialised and have been entangled in
controversies.

“Only JNNURM projects are being executed in the
city for the past one year. All other projects have not made any
considerable progress,” said S M Samy, Corporation Councillor
ward no 61. The corporation had also announced the construction of a
new council hall to accommodate additional councillors who were elected
into the council after the expansion of the old corporation limits. The
civic body has invited expression of interest for the project and
tenders will be floated for the works soon, to construct a
state-of-the-art corporation hall with audio and visual aids, behind the
present corporation main office near Town Hall.

“The new
budget should focus on improving the infrastructure facilities in the
newly-added areas to ensure residents better civic facilities. Education
sector should also be given a thrust in the proposed budget,” said P
Rajkumar, north zone chairman, Coimbatore municipal corporation.

The corporation had allocated Rs 100 lakhs in the 2012-13 civic budget
for the construction of subways. It has now announced that a subway
will be constructed on NSR road near Sai Baba Colony. The previous
budget had also kept aside Rs 400 lakhs for the construction of bridges
at Puttuvikki on Sundakamuthur road, over Sanganoor Pallam connecting
Gandhipuram 5{+t}{+h} street and Ganesh street. City mayor SM Velusamy
also announced a library in each of the 100 wards in the previous
budget.