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Tamil Nadu News Papers

Size of Chennai city set to expand

Wednesday, 26 August 2009 04:37
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The Hindu 26.08.2009

Size of Chennai city set to expand

A. Srivathsan

Committee has recommended two options to government

CHENNAI: The size of Chennai city is set to expand manifold. Whether it will enlarge from its present extent of 176 sq.km. to become a mega city of 800 sq.km area or it will be a relatively smaller expansion to encompass about 420 sq.km area is a decision that the government of Tamil Nadu will soon take.

Report

The committee, constituted to examine the proposal for delineating new city Corporations around Chennai city, has recommended two options to the State government and submitted the report on August 18.

The first option recommends a greater Chennai Corporation that will administer an area of 800 sq.km and is based on the study of other large city corporations such as Hyderabad and Bangalore which are spread over an area of about 650 and 700 sq.km respectively.

This expanded Corporation will incorporate various municipalities and other local bodies within the Chennai Metropolitan Area (1189 sq.km).

The second option is to expand the present city to a size of 420 sq.km and in addition, create two Corporations with Avadi and Tambaram as headquarters.

In this proposal, the existing municipalities such as Ambattur and Alandur would be merged with the Chennai Corporation and Semancheri would be the southern limit and Thiruvottiyur and Kathivakkam the northern limit of the city.

The Chennai-Avadi Corporation would cover about 150 sq.km extending up to Poonamallee.

The Chennai-Tambaram Corporation would cover about 200 sq.km extending up to Vandalur.

Both these options were not amongst the alternatives that were discussed at public consultation meetings held in 2008 and 2009, but have been arrived at as a result of the discussions, say a government source.

The purpose behind this restructuring, as stated by the government, is to create ‘higher order local bodies’ that will deliver better public services, generate more resources and facilitate private public partnerships to undertake new infrastructure projects.

The State government also expects that this restructuring will optimise expenditure and improve administration.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 August 2009 04:39
 

Drainage scheme work to begin soon

Wednesday, 26 August 2009 04:23
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The Hindu 26.08.2009

Drainage scheme work to begin soon

Special Correspondent

COIMBATORE: The much-awaited Rs. 377-crore underground drainage scheme will take off to cover a large part of the city that does not have underground sewers, according to Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra.

Out of three packages for establishing a sewage collection system, the work for two had already been awarded. But, the commencement of work had been put on hold because of the byelection to the Thondamuthur Assembly constituency on August 18. “Now, that the election is over, the work will begin in the first week of September,” Mr. Mishra told presspersons on Monday.

Another package

Another package was being put through the process of re-tender and the work relating to this would begin in another 40 days.

Work on related projects – the establishing of sewage treatment plants - had already begun. One plant was being established at Ukkadam and another at Nanjundapuram. While the work at Ukkadam was under progress, the other at Nanjundapuram was stopped because of a court order. “We have approached the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board for a solution and we hope for a positive decision”, he said.

Inconvenience

The Commissioner asked the people in the scheme areas to brace for some inconvenience in the form of digging of roads.The Commissioner’s announcement has brought hopes of a decade-long wait for a scheme eagerly sought for by the areas added to Coimbatore when it was made a city corporation in 1981. Only a relatively smaller part of the city that constituted the old municipality had underground sewers.

The Commissioner said works on the Pilloor Phase II drinking water scheme were also under way. Five km of pipes (out of the total 35 km) had been laid. The construction of a water treatment plant near the pumping station at Velliyankadu and a reservoir at Ramakrishnapuram near the city was under progress.

Bids had been approved for constructing the collection well and the laying of pipe till the tunnel at Pilloor. All the works cleared would be completed in 18 months, the Commissioner said.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 August 2009 04:25
 

Civic body to collect Rs 568 cr tax arrears

Tuesday, 25 August 2009 12:03
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Deccan Chronicle 25.08.2009

Civic body to collect Rs 568 cr tax arrears

August 25th, 2009
By Our Correspondent

Chennai, Aug. 24: City Corporation has planned to intensify the property tax arrears drive as the total arrears to the corporation amounts to about Rs 568 crore. According to corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni about 434 people have property tax arrears above Rs 10 lakh each totalling to a staggering amount of Rs 170 crore.

The revenue authorities have planned to install notice boards revealing the names of defaulters and their arrears. These notice boards will be installed in front of the properties for which the taxes were not paid.

Last year, about Rs 360 crore was collected through property taxes and this year a target of about Rs 400 crore is planned, Mr Lakhoni said.

“Fascinatingly several posh hotels and IT majors have been evading property tax and north Chennai accounts for around Rs 125 crore arrears, while the zones in central and south Chennai account for remaining Rs 443 crore,” a corporation official said. With the revision of sixth pay commission and the expenditure of the civic body shooting up due to new schemes announced in the corporation budget, the pressure is high on the revenue department to ensure that the financial burden of the civic body is met through its annual tax collection process, the official added.

 
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