Civic 'annexation' by new corpns may face hurdle

CHENNAI: The creation of two more corporations in the suburbs of the city might not be an easy task for the state government. Most municipalities favour becoming part of the Chennai Corporation rather than come under the new corporations being planned for the suburbs.
The reason is obvious: the Chennai Corporation gets huge fund allocation, gets financial assistance from the Central and state governments and also foreign investment.Moreover, it has a decentralised network and its elected representatives have administrative powers vested with them. Municipalities such as Alandur, Kathivakkam and Thiruvottiyur (the first two headed by DMK and the third by CPM) believe that the DMKled council in Chennai would help them fare better.
Alandur municipal chairman R S Bharathi said coming under Chennai Corporation would integrate his area with the city. "Though we are on par with the state capital, in all respects, we will be happy with Chennai rather than Tambaram. Uniform planning and development of schemes with the grants from other sources will help attain better results. New flyovers, linking roads, solid waste management will be focussed on," he added. The municipality has a total extent of 9.5 sq kms.
According to him, Chennai had even set a precedent: Part of Velachery Panchayat Board area, comprising a portion of 396-acre Velachery revenue village, was 'annexed' to Chennai in 1946 so that the corporation could take control of public health. "Look at the development Velachery boasts of today. There is large-scale progress in all fields," Bharathi said.
Flyovers getting ready within months, expanding storm water drain network, better road conditions - these are some of the reasons that inspire members of the faraway Kathivakkam municipality in North Chennai to merge with the Chennai corporation. Three months ago, they even passed a resolution saying they wanted to be associated with Chennai rather than Ambattur. "How can we join the Ambattur local body," asks A Murugavel, municipal chairman of Kathivakkam.
Amazed at the pace with which Chennai Corporation was building flyovers, Murugavel hopes that Chennai mayor M Subramanian would help construct a bridge connecting Kathivakkam and Athipattu. The absence of a bridge forces over 10,000 employees of the Thermal Power Station, Ennore Port and Minjur desalination plant to take a 20-km detour by train, when they could cover the distance within minutes.
Thiruvottiyur municipality, which is closer to Chennai, gets 25 lakh litres of drinking water everyday from Metrowater at 70 paise per litre. "If we come under Chennai Corporation, there will be no need to pay the huge sum. Moreover, we will also get development funds like our counterparts in Chennai. The fund can make a huge difference to our area," its municipal chairman R Jayaraman (who belongs to CPM) said. His council has also passed a resolution for ceding with Chennai Corporation.
Politics also has a role to play. Some municipalities are against the idea of merging with Chennai Corporation because it is headed by the DMK. "Development will speed up no matter which corporation we join. But we would never join Chennai," D Shanmugham of PMK, chairman of Madhavaram municipality, said.
Meanwhile, local administration minister M K Stalin said on Wednesday that the creation of new corporations would be taken up only after seeking public opinion, and a decision will be taken before the local body elections in 2011.
T H E M A K I N G O F A C I T Y
Till 1946, Mambalam , Kodambakkam, Saidapet, Kotturpuram and Adyar were considered to be suburbs and not part of Chennai Corporation
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Aminjikarai, which is the gateway to west Chennai and is a welldeveloped business district, used to be a village till 1946 when it was brought under Chennai Corporation
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The corporation proposed the idea of taking over these areas in 1941 - in order to decongest the city and secure control over public health. But the govt was not pleased