The residents’ welfare associations and social activists of south Chennai, who had high hopes when the Tambaram Corporation was formed last August, are disappointed by the poor civic amenities in several areas.
Residents of Pallavaram, Pammal, Sembakkam, Thiruneermalai, Chitlapakkam and Selaiyur say they have been putting up with bad roads, leaking sewer lines, lack of streetlights and the menace of stray cattle.
The activists organised street junction meetings in Pallavaram, Hasthinapuram and Chromepet on Monday to highlight the civic issues affecting the residents and the slow progress in developing the civic amenities.
Social activist V. Santhanam said the expectations of the residents that the civic amenities would improve after the formation of Tambaram Corporation have been belied. “It would have been better if they had remained with the Greater Chennai corporation,” he said. Tambaram Corporation Council meeting had not been held for more than two months and several resolutions were pending, he said.
Meenakshisundaram, a resident of Hasthinapuram, said several roads were in poor shape and the underground drainage system had been overflowing at a number of streets. He said the shortage of engineering officials in local wards had not helped in solving the complaints.
Vacancies to be filled
A senior official of the Corporation said the garbage collection and streetlights maintenance had been outsourced and both were functioning without any deficiency. It was not proper to compare a newly formed Corporation with that of the Greater Chennai Corporation, he said.
The Government Orders had been issued for filling the post of two Deputy Commissioners and more than 20 assistant engineers, he said and added that the deficiency in infrastructure would be addressed soon.
