The new administrative building of Thuvakudi Municipality along the Tiruchi-Thanjavur Highway is ready for occupation. Official sources said Chief Minister Jayalalithaa is expected to inaugurate the building through videoconferencing soon.
The occupation of the new office by employees is expected to coincide with a string of new appointments, particularly of sanitary workers. There are now only nine sanitary workers in the local body that caters to a population of nearly 50,000 people spread over 21 wards. Rest of the vacancies to the post of sanitary workers against the sanctioned strength of 23 sanitary workers will be filled within the next one or two weeks, according to the Commissioner In-Charge C. Mathivanan.
The department of employment has taken cognizance of the requirement of sanitary staff, he said, informing that the posts of manager, accountant, building inspector, sanitary inspector, and work inspector have also been sanctioned. Even a full-time commissioner has been posted. In all probability, these posts will also be filled within a fortnight, Mr. Mathivanan said. However, the requirement of sanitary workers is much more. After the upgrade of Thuvakudi from the status of town panchayat to that of a second-grade municipality during 2004 based on the increase in population, the requirement of sanitary workers has increased. There is now an overall requirement for at least 40 sanitary workers, E. Kayambu, Commissioner of Thuvakudi Municipality, said.
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The new building has been a long-felt need for the local body that had been functioning for several years from the octagonal-shaped roofed basement of a water tank. The existing office has no space to accommodate more than 10 persons. The monthly meeting of the municipality used to be conducted in claustrophobic conditions. Henceforth, the councillors can look forward to conducting the proceedings at the spacious meeting hall in the new building, official sources said.
It was after a prolonged struggle that the municipality obtained the land from Small Industries Development Corporation for housing the administrative office. The work order was issued for the Rs. 65 lakh project in 2009, but the work was initiated only a year later. The construction carried out over two to three years was marred by interruptions, initially for clearing encroachments, and again in between when the contractor expressed inability to complete the project citing escalation in costs of raw materials. The local body had to go for re-tender. The new building measuring 535 square metres will have the offices of the Chairman, Executive Officer, Municipal Engineer, and Town Planning, Revenue, Sanitary, Administrative, and Computer sections in the ground floor.