The Times of India            04.02.2014

Councillors take lessons in civic governance at state campat state camp

COIMBATORE: A two-day orientation and training programme for councillors from Coimbatore and Tirupur corporations began at a hotel in Chinniyampalayam in the city outskirts on Monday. As many as 68 out of the 100 councillors from Coimbatore and 32 elected representatives including the mayor from Tirupur are attending the sessions that deal with an array of issues from understanding the budgeting exercise to getting a grasp over the Right to Information Act.

"The sessions were very useful as they explained the relevance and importance of the office of the mayor and how effectively we could serve the public," said A Visalakshi, Tirupur mayor.

The orientation program, conducted by the Commissionerate of Municipal Administration through Tamil Nadu Institute of Urban Studies, has been divided into two day-long sessions. In the first session the councillors were introduced to the basic features of local self governance and the ideal conduct at council meetings. This was followed by a session on the powers duties, roles and responsibilities of the corporation council and the mayor. There was specific stress on ensuring transparency in the activities and policies of the urban body.

"The sessions are divided into various segments and each of them will be dealing with specific issues. We are also trying to instil leadership values and motivate the elected representatives to perform better as representatives of the people," said K S Selvanayaki, assistant professor and session co-ordinator, Tamil Nadu Institute of Urban Studies.

Coimbatore mayor S M Velusamy sat for the morning session. Senior officials including Coimbatore corporation commissioner G Latha also attended a part of the session. According to Meena Loganathan, ward no 49 councillor, the resource persons handing the sessions made it a point to elaborate on the powers of the various standing committees of the corporation. "For example, they explained how each member of a standing committee like taxation committee or health committee could involve themselves in various policies and projects of the corporation," she said.

The training camp is part of an ongoing state-wide initiative to empower elected representatives of local bodies and is being held at Madurai, Salem, Chengelpettu, Coimbatore and Trichy districts on various dates. A similar camp was held for elected members of municipalities at Coimbatore between January 27 and February 1.

The training program will also contain an exclusive session for as many as 243 female elected representatives of all the local bodies on Wednesday.

The Hindu              08.01.2014

More funds for road safety, says Minister

“The Tamil Nadu government is spending Rs. 40 crore to ensure road safety in the State by setting up traffic signals and carrying out road-widening projects,” said Sellur K. Raju, Minister for Cooperation at an awareness programme here on Tuesday.

Speaking at the inauguration of the road safety week, the Minister said that as part of its vision 2023 the State government has announced projects worth Rs. 15 lakh crore for the development of transport sector, urban infrastructure and so on. Funds worth Rs. 3 lakh crore has been allotted for building quality roads and development of transport sector, he added.

The allotment of funds for development of State highways has increased from Rs. 5,615 crore in 2012-13 to Rs. 6,452 crore in the year 2013-14. Also, to aid speed control and effective traffic management, equipment worth Rs. 8.5 lakh have been provided to Madurai city police.

The Minister was visibly moved when he recounted the fatal accident involving his son a few years ago.

Mr. Raju, who shared the memories of his loss, had a message for the audience.

“Everyone in this hall, especially, youngsters must follow traffic rules and lead a safe and happy life. None of you should go through what I have undergone”, he said.

It may be noted that the district has witnessed a decline in the number of road accidents from 2,862 cases in 2012 to 2,676 in 2013.

Samanth Rohan Rajendra, Deputy Commissioner (Law and Order), Madurai, who spoke on the occasion mentioned the recent traffic changes made in the city with the help of the Corporation, for better flow of vehicular traffic.

Mr. Rohan asked the students present to offer their suggestions, by contacting him on his mobile phone or by sending an email.

Minister K. Raju gave away prizes to some of the best call taxi, school bus and government bus drivers in the city. Earlier in the day, an awareness rally was flagged off by Collector L. Subramanian from the collectorate to Madittsia Hall.

Students of various colleges took part in the rally.

V.V. Rajan Chellappa, Madurai Corporation Mayor, S. Yellapparaj, Assistant Commissioner (traffic), P. Mahendravel, Director, Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank, also spoke at the inaugural function organised by Voice Trust and Maditssia in association with the city police,

Regional Transport Department and Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation.