It's a long road ahead for residents of Tiruvottiyur and Ambattur. Potholed stretches in these areas will not get a facelift soon as the development of the grid system is yet to take off. This is because of lack of participants in the technical bid opened on Friday for two packages under the mega city development mission.
The Corporation of Chennai had proposed to undertake road improvement work, including a grid system of roads for the newly added areas of the civic body. The work on grid system of roads, that includes streetlights, street furniture, footpaths and stormwater drains, has been divided into 31 different packages worth around Rs. 10 crore each.
Corporation officials are puzzled about the poor response to the tender for the second time. A number of Class-I contractors had expressed interest in the project, an official said.
The development initiative is expected to cover a distance of 175 km in Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram, Ambattur, Valasaravakkam, Alandur, Perungudi and Sholinganallur zones. Work on 16 packages was begun in a few areas this week.
Chennai Corporation was planning to start work on the remaining 15 packages for the grid system next month. But poor response to two packages has proved a hurdle for the ambitious project in a few wards.
The pricing bid for 13 packages will open on Monday, and the Corporation Council is likely to approve the finalised packages of work on May 10.
A total of Rs. 333.27 crore was approved for the grid system of roads. Funds under the mega city development mission amount to Rs. 308 crore while the remaining amount of Rs. 25.2 crore will be borne by the civic body.