Corporation to lay 462 new roads, upgradation and improvement of roads also to be done; to take loan of ₹16 cr. from TUFIDCO

The Madurai Corporation has planned to lay 462 new roads including improvement and upgradation of stretches in the city at an estimated cost of ₹37.13 crore.

Passing a resolution to this effect at the recently held council meeting, chaired by Mayor Indrani Pon Vasanth, the members were informed that ₹16 crore would be borrowed from the Tamil Nadu Urban Finance Infrastructure Development Corporation (TUFIDCO) and another ₹21.13 crore would come through government subsidies and urban local body contribution, thus totalling ₹37.13 crore.

Cutting across party lines, the councillors said that after the recent rains, many roads had gone from bad to worse. The remote areas or newly added wards or those in the old Madurai (around Meenakshi Temple and Thirumalai Naick Palace), were non motorable.

The officials explained that they have identified 462 roads and many among them, for instance, Sellur – Kulamangalam Road, Vakkil New Street, Narimedu, Arapalayam Cross, Munichalai and among others would be laid. Already, repairs and improvement works were underway, they said.

The Commissioner Chitra Vijayan inspected Narimedu, Ahimsapuram and some of the roads in the city on Wednesday and checked the quality of bitumen mix and instructed the engineers to be vigil. There shall be no compromise on the quality and if there was any complaint about use of substandard materials by any contractor firm, it would be duly inspected and action taken, she had informed, officials said.

The CPI (M) councillors had submitted a memorandum to the Mayor to lay the roads before the rainy season started and wanted to form committees to oversee the laying of roads. They also urged the officials to ensure that the newly laid roads were not dug up by other agencies under any guise at least for two years. In case, any private or public agency dug the roads, it should be laid immediately, they stressed.