In an unprecedented move, Coimbatore Corporation has decided to handover 11 roads to the State Highways Department for maintenance.
In a resolution the Council passed at the August meeting held a few days ago, it said that it was handing over the stretch from Fun Mall Junction on Avinashi Road to Rajalakshmi Mill Junction on Trichy Road , the stretch from Nava India Junction on Avinashi Road to Mettupalayam Road through Chinnasamy Street and 100 Feet Road, the road from Jenneys Residency to Sathy Road connecting Codissia Road, Gandhi Managar Road and FCI Godown Road, and Thanneerpandal Road from Avinashi Road Junction to Vilankurichi Road.
The Corporation had also mooted handing over Singanallur Road to Vellalore, the road from Coimbatore Collectorate to Avarampalayam (Huzur Road and Balasundaram Road), the road from Ukkadam to Perur Bypass Road passing through Puttu Vikki bridge, the road connecting Ponnaiahrajapuram to Palakkad Road, the road from SIDCO Junction on Pollachi Road to Sugunapuram on Palakkad Road, Puttu Vikki Road to Kovaipudur, and Sanganoor Road.
The resolution also said the civic body was handing over the roads only for maintenance as they were important link roads to National or State highways and other important roads and justified the handing over also citing the Corporation’s financial health.
The Corporation sources said this was an unprecedented move, but was subject to the State Government’s approval. In the past, the Corporation had handed over roads to the Highways Department for a limited period for completion of specific projects like bridge over railway tracks or flyovers, but this was for maintenance.
Welcoming the move, Consumer activist K. Kathirmathiyon said the public, Corporation and Highways stood to gain from the transfer of maintenance of roads for the following reasons, the first of them being the 11 roads would see better maintenance.
The second reason was that the Corporation had handed over the roads to the agency whose sole work was road construction and maintenance.
For the Corporation it was not so as it was one among several works that included water supply, street light maintenance and sewerage service.
By saving on the maintenance of the 11 roads, the Corporation could better utilise the money on other civic services.
The move was in the pipeline for quite sometime, Mr. Kathirmathiyon said and added that it was discussed in the last Road Safety Committee meeting also. Soon after it was pointed out to Corporation Commissioner Raja Gopal Sunkara, he had immediately passed a resolution to handover the maintenance, which was appreciable.
Similarly, the Corporation should also look at handing over N.S.R. Road in Saibaba Colony to the Highways Department, he added.
