With hardly any debate, the Coimbatore Corporation Council at its urgent meeting on Friday resolved to collect money from the city’s residents in the near future for using the underground drainage facility. It also resolved to collect deposits.
As a first step, the Corporation would collect money from residents in those areas that were linked to the sewage treatment plant in Ukkadam. The quantum of annual usage charges and one-time deposit the Corporation would collect will depend on the changes it would make to the underground drainage by-laws based on the recommendations of the committee comprising the Mayor, Commissioner and City Engineer.
As for the other areas, the Corporation said it proposed to collect between Rs. 1,250 and Rs. 14,500 in deposit for residential buildings and between Rs. 2,400 and Rs. 24,000 for non-residential establishments. The annual usage charges would vary from Rs. 200 and Rs. 7,750 for residential buildings and Rs. 500 and Rs. 16,500 for non-residential buildings.
It was necessary to fix the tariff as 80 per cent underground drainage work had been completed and the civic body was ready to provide house service connections.
The Council also resolved to take up storm water drain construction in those places in added areas that were prone to flooding and heavily populated at Rs. 166.98 crore by obtaining funds from the State Government. It also said that the Corporation would repair roads damaged during the execution of underground drainage work at Rs. 17.63 crore.