Deccan Chronicle 11.02.2010

Greater Chennai divisions debated

Feb. 10: A high-level meeting of representatives and heads of nine suburban municipalities, 25 village panchayats and eight town panchayats that are to be merged with the Chennai corporation was held at Ripon Buildings here on Wednesday. Corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni chaired the meeting and discussed the basic infrastructure facilities available with the civic bodies. The commissioner also enquired about the staff strength and revenue generation process.

Currently, there are 10 zones in the corporation, which upon expansion will increase to 18. These eight new zones would be formed in the suburbs. For the formation of new zones, the civic body requires basic details like population, geographical area, revenue potential, infrastructure and employee strength. These details would be incorporated to ensure better delimitation process, Mr Lakhoni said.

Special officer for corporation expansion and deputy commissioner (health) Jyothi Nirmala participated in the meet in which about 30 representatives from different local bodies took part. Within six months, the corporation would submit a detailed report with recommendations to the government. The report will explain the absorption of employees and execution modalities of the expansion, corporation sources said.

The government recently passed orders to expand Chennai city from 174 sq km to 426 sq km. The new corporation limits will include suburbs like Thiruvottiyur, Porur, Ambattur, Alandur, Sholinganallur and Madhavaram.