The new administrative building of Thuvakudi
Municipality along the Tiruchi-Thanjavur Highway is ready for
occupation. Official sources said Chief Minister Jayalalithaa is
expected to inaugurate the building through videoconferencing soon.

The
occupation of the new office by employees is expected to coincide with a
string of new appointments, particularly of sanitary workers. There are
now only nine sanitary workers in the local body that caters to a
population of nearly 50,000 people spread over 21 wards. Rest of the
vacancies to the post of sanitary workers against the sanctioned
strength of 23 sanitary workers will be filled within the next one or
two weeks, according to the Commissioner In-Charge C. Mathivanan.

The
department of employment has taken cognizance of the requirement of
sanitary staff, he said, informing that the posts of manager,
accountant, building inspector, sanitary inspector, and work inspector
have also been sanctioned. Even a full-time commissioner has been
posted. In all probability, these posts will also be filled within a
fortnight, Mr. Mathivanan said. However, the requirement of sanitary
workers is much more. After the upgrade of Thuvakudi from the status of
town panchayat to that of a second-grade municipality during 2004 based
on the increase in population, the requirement of sanitary workers has
increased. There is now an overall requirement for at least 40 sanitary
workers, E. Kayambu, Commissioner of Thuvakudi Municipality, said.

The
new building has been a long-felt need for the local body that had been
functioning for several years from the octagonal-shaped roofed basement
of a water tank. The existing office has no space to accommodate more
than 10 persons. The monthly meeting of the municipality used to be
conducted in claustrophobic conditions. Henceforth, the councillors can
look forward to conducting the proceedings at the spacious meeting hall
in the new building, official sources said.

It was
after a prolonged struggle that the municipality obtained the land from
Small Industries Development Corporation for housing the administrative
office. The work order was issued for the Rs. 65 lakh project in 2009,
but the work was initiated only a year later. The construction carried
out over two to three years was marred by interruptions, initially for
clearing encroachments, and again in between when the contractor
expressed inability to complete the project citing escalation in costs
of raw materials. The local body had to go for re-tender. The new
building measuring 535 square metres will have the offices of the
Chairman, Executive Officer, Municipal Engineer, and Town Planning,
Revenue, Sanitary, Administrative, and Computer sections in the ground
floor.