The largest constituency in Tamil Nadu in terms of electorate, Sriperumbudur is set to witness a battle among T.R. Baalu, a heavyweight and former Union Minister, and two newcomers — Dr. A. Vaithilingam of the PMK and advocate P. Sridhar of the Makkal Needhi Maiam.
Often dubbed ‘India's Shenzhen’, the constituency is largely urban, while within the Sriperumbudur area, many villages dot the landscape, with infrastructure and water woes topping voters’ grievances.
A number of flyovers remain incomplete, including the ones at Pallavaram, Perungalathur, Kelambakkam junction and the Port - Maduravoyal elevated corridor. Long-pending demands for road overbridges and foot overbridges remain unfulfilled, while road and traffic conditions are far from ideal.
Voters in the constituency also want the widening of the Chennai-Tiruvallur High Road and a better sewerage network.
“We don’t have any water here. Also, there are frequent power cuts at night and in the morning,” says Egavalli, a roadside vendor at Mannur.
Paramasivam, who owns a grocery store near the Sriperumbudur bus terminus, complains of incomplete sewerage connections in the area. “They also gave Palar water connections to houses here. But we have not seen even a drop of Palar water so far,” he says.
At the Ambattur Industrial Estate, one of the earliest industrial hubs in the city, units are at risk of losing their space to schools, hospitals and food courts. “About 20% of SMEs [small and medium enterprises] have left the estate. There are a number of schools coming up inside the estate. Schools should not be allowed to operate inside an industrial area. We fear that in future, there may be demands that industrial units should vacate the estate as schools are in the vicinity,” says L. Venugopal, president, Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers’ Association (AIEMA).
GST woes
The units in the estate have been hit hard by the Goods and Services Tax. “Demonetisation was only a temporary hiccup, which has long been overcome. The GST at 18 to 28% is hurting workers due to delays in payments from big customers. Huge funds are tied up in receivables and banks are not willing to finance this additional working capital requirement. It is difficult for industries to take credit on the GST paid to traders as they do not in turn pay the taxes collected from us,” he notes.
The People Awareness Association, Nanganallur chapter, has a long list of demands, including the desilting of Adambakkam lake. “The entire flood water enters into the Veerangal Odai and is let off into the Bay of Bengal. All the water is wasted as there is no arrangement to let the water into the lake,” says association secretary V. Rama Rao. Further, Mr. Rao says the government has so far not called for tenders for the road overbridge over the Thillai Ganga Nagar subway, and wants the ‘anomaly’ in the property tax rate for wards 160 to 167 to be set right.
While DMK candidate T.R. Baalu has said he will focus on boosting industrial growth, the PMK’s A. Vaithilingam has promised to set up a government hospital in the constituency. “I will ensure that an air ambulance is available in the constituency,” he says. Makkal Needhi Maiam candidate M. Sridhar, a lawyer at the Madras High Court, has said he will focus on boosting job opportunities in the region. “We will improve the skills of the workforce. We will also focus on water bodies in the area. Water is an important resource and we need to protect it,” he says. He adds that he would aim to set up a government hospital and a college in the constituency.
