Smart city initiatives for wards in four constituencies

Chennai: Cheer up residents of T Nagar, Thousand Lights, Saidapet and Mylapore constituencies. Wards coming under these areas are to get smart initiatives under the smart city project, Chennai Mayor Saidai S. Duraisamy informed the corporation council on Saturday.

Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has identified these areas and they would get the initial benefits, which will be later extended to other parts. Under the smart city project, T. Nagar will see decongestion and traffic will improve and overall solid waste management and e-governance will improve further. Corporation wards 135, 136, 141 and parts of 134 of T. Nagar constituency, wards 113, 117 and 118 of Thousand Lights constituency, wards 140 and 171 of Saidapet constituency and ward 122 of Mylapore will get roads re-surfaced and widened, he said.

The mayor also said the civic body will soon throw open the historic Victoria Public Hall for public visit. Corporation will elicit public opinion on this and explore how to put back the renowned building for effective public use.

The corporation also passed a resolution allowing school headmasters to maintain  corporation school buildings and its amenities after obtaining funds from city educational officer.

According to the resolutions,  existing bus shelters in the city will be modernised and multiple shelters will be clubbed into one big cluster. Provision of new LED street lights, road repairs and extension of civic contract projects were also discussed in the council.

DMK councillors who walked out of the council said the Mayor was wasting council’s time by showering encomiums on state subjects. “The ruling party wanted to praise the government for the already inaugurated Koodankulam nuclear plant ignoring issues related to Chennai. Monsoon is approaching and we wanted to discuss about flood mitigation arrangements and we were not given chance”, DMK councillor Subash Chandra Bose said.

Meanwhile, Chennai Corporation will have its last council meet by mid September and the final meeting will have two successive days of session.
AIADMK councillor Sukumar Babu, explained that several councillors have not discussed in detail Amma welfare schemes and requested an additional working day. Further there is a need to discuss pending civic works, he said.