Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s visit to the city on Monday has raised the expectations of the people that in his speech there will be announcements providing solutions to long-standing issues concerning civic administration.
His visit has also prompted activists like K. Kathirmathiyon to put forward a set of demands. In his appeal to the State Government, he said the first of several issues that the Chief Minister should address is giving building plan approval for additional construction for residents in added areas – 40 wards.
After coming under the Coimbatore Corporation limit in 2011, the residents there had faced difficulty in getting building plan approval for additional construction as the Corporation would not recognise as legal the existing construction as the rules based on which the then local bodies gave approval were different from what it followed, Mr. Kathirmathiyon said and sought a solution at the earliest.
This was an immediate necessity as several residents were unable to take up construction of first floor or additional structures.
The Corporation should stop collecting fee as a percentage of property value to effect name change in property tax assessment. This would set a wrong precedent as other utility providers like Tangedco, Transport Department or Revenue Department could start adopting a similar practise. The right way would be to levy a fixed amount as name transfer fee.
The other major change expected is announcement to withdraw the provision that removes mandatory handing over open space reserve (OSR) for layouts less than 3,000 sq.m. and makes handing over OSR an option for layouts between 3,000 sq.m. and 10,000 sq.m.
Enabling payment of money equalling the guideline value of OSR would deprive people of OSR lands in the city and the local body of establishing public utility spaces.
Mr. Kathirmathiyon also raised the need for giving exemption from building completion certificate to small commercial buildings or temporary structures to enable the builders get power and water connections and stop levying commercial power tariff on common utilities like sewage treatment plants in apartments.
The other expectations that the city residents seem to have from the Chief Minister’s visit were a plan to decongest the city by taking wholesale markets to a place outside the city, a solid waste management project to manage the waste not processed now by the Coimbatore Corporation, an order authorising a government agency to manage traffic lights in the city, order sanctioning additional posts in the Corporation for better administration and funds for maintenance of roads and other civic amenities.
Sources said if the Chief Minister were to address at least some of the demands people’s long-standing issues would get resolved.
