Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

‘Staff strength inadequate for launching water scheme’

COIMBATORE: Officials of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission wing at the Coimbatore Corporation have said that the number of staff provided now was inadequate for the implementation of the Pilloor Phase II drinking water scheme.

The officials told the Council on Thursday that compared to the Phase I scheme implemented some years ago, the new one was woefully short of the engineers required to monitor the execution of the project.

The Phase I scheme was implemented with two Superintending Engineers, eight Executive Engineers, 24 Assistant Executive Engineers and 42 engineers at various other levels.

But, the mission wing at the Corporation now had only one Superintending Engineer, two Executive Engineers and four Assistant Executive Engineers.

Assistant Engineers and Junior Engineers had not been posted. The officials said the Council would have to move a resolution requesting the Government for the allocation of more staff.

By pointing at the shortage of staff, they indicated that this would make the implementation of the scheme very difficult.

Member of various parties in the Corporation Council have opposed any move for a steep hike in Property Tax.

When the Council recorded a Government Order for the revision of the tax rates, the councillors cautioned the civic body against a steep hike.

Some of them pointed out that the guidelines issued by the Government had stated clearly that the rates such as 25 per cent or 100 per cent were only the upper ceiling for various categories and not the fixed percentage of hike.

For instance, the increase for residential buildings should not exceed 25 per cent.

It was not as if the hike should be 25 per cent. The increase could be of any rate up to this figure.

Therefore, there should not be any huge increase that could place a huge burden on the people, the members said.

The councillors also wanted the Corporation to work out affordable rates of increase and place in the Council for its approval.

Though tax increase was a statutory obligation on the part of the Corporation, there was a provision for the civic body to fix rates up to the ceiling fixed by the Government, they said.

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