The top brass of Madurai Corporation waited for three hours to receive the ‘green signal’ before the new office building for zone-2 on Race Course Road was formally inaugurated on Tuesday.
Even as invitees turned up by noon, the actual inauguration took place only a couple of minutes before 3 p.m., since the opening of new buildings at various places in the State through video-conferencing by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa got delayed in Chennai.
It was a three-hour-wait for all, including women members of self-help groups who had turned up to receive financial assistance.
Mayor V. V. Rajan Chellappa, Commissioner C. Kathiravan, Deputy Mayor K. Thiraviam, zone chairmen and a large contingent of councillors and officials were seated on the stage till about 3 p.m. as they did not receive phone call from Chennai to go ahead with the unveiling of the plaque here after the Chief Minister completed the video-conference process.
Official sources said that Ms. Jayalalithaa had a very busy day in Chennai, chairing a Cabinet meeting, followed by a finance committee meeting. After her scheduled official engagements, the inauguration took place and it got over in a couple of minutes.
The new office has been built at a cost of Rs.1.75 crore to cater to the needs of people in 26 wards.
“By October 1, offices and officials of this zone will be shifted to the new building from Anna Maaligai where they are presently located,” the Mayor said.
A. Mathuram, City Engineer, said that the zone system was meant to provide easy access to the public to get their requirements attended to quickly. “All officials and staff of zone-2 will be available at the new office and people can approach them for sanitation, drainage, water supply, birth and death certificates or any other need,” he added.
After the inauguration, corporation authorities handed over revolving fund to the tune of Rs.20.25 lakh to 81 women SHG members under Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana. Each beneficiary was given Rs.25, 000. Also, 4,500 youngsters from poor families were given financial help to the tune of Rs.3.2 crore for skill development training.
A. Palanisamy and A. Devadoss, Assistant Commissioners; I. Ranganathan, Chief Town Planning Officer, and senior officials were among those who were present.
