The Chennai Corporation budget for 2013-2014 aims for a cleaner, greener and aesthetically enhanced city, with over 40 of the 126 proposals covering these aspects.
Intensive cleaning of roads, pedestrian plazas at three places, 7-km-long cycle track and musical fountain on Marina beach, 100 additional parks, solar energy generation, LED lighting, beautification of more beaches and distribution of nochi saplings for mosquito control — these were some of the measures proposed by Mayor Saidai Duraisamy in his budget speech on Monday.
He said the civic body would use soap for washing roads and street furniture to ensure the civic facilities are clean. However, the cleaning operation with soap will not damage roads, he said. Many countries wash roads to keep them clean.
Pedestrian plazas will be commissioned in T. Nagar, Chepauk and Mylapore as part of the civic body’s efforts to provide better amenities for pedestrians. The plaza in T. Nagar will have a commercial theme, in Chepauk it will have an environmental theme, while the one in Mylapore will adopt a religious theme.
The plazas will also support adjoining public modes of transport. Roads forming a loop around the proposed super-specialty hospital in Omandurar Government Estate will be the first to have civic infrastructure for pedestrian plaza.
This is part of efforts to promote non-motorised transport in the city. The non-motorised transport infrastructure would include bicycle tracks and partial pedestrianisation.
The Chennai Corporation will also commission facilities to promote cycle sharing as an important means of providing last-mile connectivity to MRTS stations initially. The facilities will also be commissioned along Metro Rail corridors in the long run.
A proposal to implement cycle circuit along Marina beach from Fort station to Foreshore Estate for a length of 7 km has also been made.
The civic body will install solar rooftop panels in all buildings of the Corporation of Chennai within three years in a phased manner. This will augment power supply and supplement conventional sources of energy.
The Corporation will also promote LED lighting to save energy and improve aesthetics. According to the Mayor, LED light fittings will be provided in all areas of the Corporation.
Improvements to beaches in Neelankarai, Kottivakkam and Palavakkam will be made based on a detailed project report prepared by consultants. The beaches, which will be provided with footpaths, car parking and children’s play areas, will adhere to existing Coastal Regulation Zone rules.
The civic body has also proposed geo-technology for better supervision of solid waste management. This is likely to ensure cleaner surroundings by monitoring of garbage removal in neighbourhoods.
Roads are likely to get a facelift with granite footpaths on 100 bus routes.
In 2012-13, granite footpaths were laid on 71 roads at a cost of Rs. 42.75 crore.
To facilitate laying of granite, encroachments such as junction boxes, pillar boxes and transformers will be removed. to form world-class and pedestrian friendly granite footpath in bus route roads in Chennai City. The footpaths will be commissioned within three years in a phased manner after removal of encroachments.
A number of flyovers will be improved with wider footpaths, toilet facility, greenery, traffic signage and parking space. Junction improvement under flyovers will be taken up at the intersections of T.T.K. Road-C.P. Ramasamy Road, Sardar Patel Road-L.B. Road, Peters Road-Conran Smith Road, and Sardar Patel Road-Gandhi Mandapam Road.
A parking management cell of the Chennai Corporation will tackle the challenges faced by owners of 26 lakh motorcycles and 6 lakh cars in the city. Additional street-parking units will be commissioned after the establishment of the parking management cell.
The cell will also look into issues of planning enforcement, parking fees and methodology for parking with the support of the city traffic police and other agencies.
The city’s lung space will grow bigger with the commissioning of 100 new parks on open space reserve land. Existing and new parks will also be equipped with rainwater harvesting structures and drip irrigation systems to promote greenery.
The Mayor also announced that conservancy staff who promote plastic segregation of waste will be rewarded.
