The Hindu 20.08.2013
State award shakes civic body out of complacency
The State Government’s Best Municipal Corporation Award to Erode Corporation has surprised Mayor Mallika Paramasivam as much as the public.
For the Mayor, of course, the announcement placing Erode on the top of 10 municipal corporations came in as a pleasant surprise. The award constituted Rs. 25 lakh in cash and a certificate of merit.
“I can’t express my feelings in words. I owe the recognition to my team of officials. I believe it is a reflection of the success of the ‘Makkalai Thaedi’ initiative wherein the grievances of the public are addressed every Wednesday ward-wise,” the Mayor said, adding that the constituency development fund of elected representatives was optimally utilised.
The civic body registered top-performance in tax collection, to the extent of 97 per cent. The works on underground drainage system are also progressing on a fast pace, but there are some challenges, some of them glaring.
The city does not have even a single park. Supply of drinking water is far from satisfactory, and many stretches of roads that were dug out for the underground drainage works are yet to be black-topped.
The uneven roads precipitates traffic congestion in the peak hours, say residents.
According to Perumalsamy, an office-goer, the recognition was baffling in the absence of visible development. The Mayor acknowledges that the public have been inconvenienced by shortage in water supply. “Indeed, there are challenges. At present water is supplied every alternate day. During summer, the situation would get worse. But we are in the midst of an initiative to provide adequate water supply to individual households. Water would be sourced from Oorachi Kottai,” she said.
Ms. Mallika hopes that traffic snarls could be addressed effectively only if the city roads are developed well.
