The Hindu 02.04.2013
Special package for Madurai Corporation, says Minister
An amount of Rs. 133.87 crore would be released during 2013-2014 under the special package of Rs. 250 crore for comprehensive infrastructure improvement in the limits of Madurai Municipal Corporation.
Informing this in the Assembly on Monday while moving the demands for grants of his departments, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Minister K.P. Munusamy said, this would be used as contribution of the local body towards the underground sewerage scheme and stormwater drain works taken up under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Last year, Rs. 116.13 crore was given.
Solar panels
Solar panels will be installed in all offices and buildings of the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and multi-storeyed tenements in the city. This will be done as part of the Solar Cities programme of Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The Minister said that a memorandum of understanding had been executed with the ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives), South Asia, for the preparation of a detailed project report. [A senior official handling the subject of municipal administration said that nod from the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency and the Union Ministry had also obtained for the master plan.]
The Union Ministry had selected the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation as one among 60 cities in the country for the purpose of declaring as Solar City.
LED streetlights
As for the implementation of LED (light emitting diode) streetlights in 101 town panchayats in the districts of Erode, Tirupur, Coimbatore and The Nilgiris, bid document was under preparation. Technical Committee and Empowered Committee were constituted to give suggestions on the bid document.
Of about 3.7 lakh streetlights in 529 town panchayats, 2,731 solar streetlights were functioning and the rest would be covered gradually.
The project of using Geographical Information System to carry out property and utility mapping with linkage to municipal information system was in advanced stages of implementation in the municipal corporations of Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi and the municipalities of Gobichettypalayam and Rajapalayam at a cost of Rs. 3.92 crore. On completion, this would be extended to other urban local bodies, he said.
