Corporation hopes to get Rs.31 crore

Tiruchi:The Corporation’s efforts to get the city included under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) appears to have made little headway. The civic body is now pinning its hopes on getting funds from the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) this year.

Though the elected representatives of the Corporation, especially the Mayor, Sarubala R. Tondaiman, have been trying to include Tiruchi under the JNNURM, official sources concede that the chances are slim as the Urban Development Ministry has put a freeze on the cities taken up for development under the project.

Tiruchi failed to qualify as it did not meet the minimum population requirement of 10 lakhs.However, Ms.Tondaiman has been arguing that Tiruchi’s floating population, especially the devotees thronging Srirangam, should be taken into account. Currently, the population is just over eight lakhs. She had been taken up the issue with the State and Central Ministers.A senior district official observed that the Corporation had failed to act with foresightedness on the issue. Several parts in the outskirts of the city, especially the Tiruverambur/ Thuvakudi region which includes BHEL Township, could have been brought under the Corporation.

Tiruverambur, till recently a town panchayat, was just upgraded into a Grade III Municipality. If only the Corporation had pushed through a proposal a couple of years ago, it would have easily qualified for the JNNURM project, he said.Meanwhile, the proposals forwarded by the Corporation seeking about Rs.31 crore under the UIDSSMT, did not get through in time last year and are likely to be cleared this year.Solid waste management programmes, construction of stormwater drains, strengthening of roads, creation of parking lots, development of heritage centres and repairs to water sources are some of the works planned to be taken up utilising the funds.