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.
