Corpn turns blind eye to unauthorised pedestal
Julie Mariappan | TNN
Chennai: The city corporation appears to have turned a blind eye to a pedestal being built on a stormwater drain on PT Rajan Salai in KK Nagar.
The concrete pedestal, constructed in blatant violation of rules, is in front of the popular MGR Park where the corporation has planned major development works at an estimated cost of Rs 50 lakh. These include a children’s play area, pathways, parking lot, lawns, ornamental lights, flower plants, fountains and an elegantly-done entry gate. “The construction of the pedestal on the drain network is unwarranted,” says M Marimuthu, a resident.
It is hardly three months since a consultant appointed by the corporation under the JNNURM scheme, submitted a report pointing to the encroachments on drains causing obstruction to desiltation. The civic staff have been unable to desilt the drains.
Residents and social activists blame the corporation for remaining silent on the issue. “There is another pedestal with the bust of a former chief minister on the other side of the drain. If such encroachments are allowed, partymen will only be encouraged further,” says V Gopalakrishnan, a civic activist.
Ironically, the civic body is now removing a lamp post to enable the public to get a better “glimpse” of the pedestal. Workers at the site told TOI that they had been directed to relocate the post. “It may take us a day to complete the wiring,” said a worker. The wires and cables were removed from the lamp post on Friday.
But this is not an isolated case. Many commercial establishments have extended their shops onto pavements on K K Salai in MGR Nagar, hampering anti-malaria operations like fogging and spraying of larvicides. Drains in most places across the city are covered with cement concrete slabs.
When contacted, Saidapet zone officials told TOI that the partymen had been asked to remove the pedestal. Otherwise, they would do it themselves, they said.
julie.mariappan@timesgroup.com
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