There seems to be no end in sight for the troubles faced by motorists while travelling along interior roads as years of neglect in maintaining the streets in residential areas has made the roads ridden with potholes.
The worst damaged parts are the interior roads in the Oulgaret Municipality which has control over residential areas in urban and semi-urban areas that fall under seven Assembly segments. The Municipality has under its limit some of the fastest-developing urban agglomerates in the town.
A majority of the roads in residential areas of Oulgaret Municipality limit have become dangerous for commuting. Most of the stretches are in a very bad shape and there are huge potholes all around, said Ravidranath, a resident of Moolakulam. Roads have not been relaid for years in our locality, he added.
To ride a two-wheeler on these roads is to risk one’s life, said Ramesh, of Kamban Nagar in Reddiyarpalayam. “Bike riders particularly face hardship in negotiating the stretches. If a motorist fails to notice the pothole, there are chances of the person ending up in an accident. The risk is even more in the case of riding two-wheelers on streets that are not properly lit during night, “ R. Sreya, Mariamman Koil Street in Thattanchavady.
Officials in Oulgaret Municipality say they rely mainly on funds allocated under the MLA constituency development scheme for relaying roads. After a long a gap, MLA fund was sanctioned only in 2021-22 and funds to the tune of around ₹ 1.75 crore were utilised for repair works in the last fiscal. The civic body has under its control around 461 km of interior roads. The funds allocated last year could be utilised to repair only around 37 km of the stretch, said an official.
The civic body depends mostly on property tax collection to meet its expenditure requirement. In 2021-22, the municipality had set a target of ₹8 crore from property tax but could only realise 75% of the amount. Another revenue source for the local body, the official said, is from transfer duty on land registration. Land registration in the entire Union Territory had taken a hit during COVID and hence the revenue during fiscal years was very negligible, he said.
The civic body has to raise every month around ₹2 crore from its own resources for payment of salary to its 400-odd workforce and pension alone, he said. “Its a shortfall every month. Somehow, we are managing to pay the salary and pension. We are yet to disburse the pension benefits to a large number of our retired staff. Unless, we are able to raise own resources or get governmental support, we will not be able to carry out our regular maintenance of roads and drains, “ said the official.
The municipality also faces another problem. For the local body to utilise the development charges collected from the owners of buildings for laying of roads, the layout should have at least 50% construction. But in many developing areas, there are only three to four buildings in a layout and as per rule the municipality cannot utilise the funds for laying the roads or construction of drains, he said.
President of Peoples Pulse P. Devanathan, said it was pathetic to learn that the government was unable to provide even basic amenities, such as proper roads for the people. The government agencies should make sure that developers provided all basic infrastructure, including road and drainage, before plots were sold to individuals. The developer should be asked to pay the development charges to the municipality before carving out plots. The developer could collect the money from the buyer. The practice was prevalent in several other States, he added.
“The Town and Country Planning and civic bodies should ensure all basic amenities are provided before selling the plots They should also ensure quality of roads laid,” he added.
