Tamil Nadu

PWD issues ‘fitness certificate’ to buildings selected for Collectorate

— Photo: M. Balaji

Okayed: The Regulated Market in Tirupur where it has been planned to establish Collectorate temporarily.

Tirupur: The Public Works Department on Monday certified the buildings on the Regulated Market premises here fit for establishing the Collectorate temporarily for Tirupur district.

The site has been selected by the Special Officer appointed for the formation of Tirupur district C. Samayamoorthy from among many locations tentatively identified, following a series of inspections. The Collectorate will function from the makeshift location till the permanent Collectorate complex was constructed for the district.

Official sources told The Hindu that the PWD, while issuing the ‘fitness certificate’, had suggested certain modifications to the buildings which included establishment of additional windows for better ventilation to make the stay of officials in the edifice more comfortable. The PWD would now prepare an estimate of the cost required for improvement of aeration and for refurbishment works inside the buildings before Saturday.

Meanwhile, the choice of Regulated Market had come in for criticism from a section of farmers and agricultural labourers.

In a memorandum submitted to the Special Officer, K.C.M. Balasubramanian, district presdient of Uzhavar Uzhaippalar Katchi, pointed out that the decision was a ‘retrogressive’ step considering the significance played by the Regulated Market in the growth of agriculture in the region for the past many decades.

According to him, the Regulated Market has been helping agriculturists to sell their produce without the intervention of middlemen.

The market here trades numerous seasonal crops both in bulk as well as in comparatively smaller quantities.

The business would get affected severely, if a sizeable portion of the buildings in the complex which was otherwise being utilized to store agriculture produces, were allocated for the Collectorate.

“Hence, steps should be taken to find some other ‘suitable location’ for the establishment of the makeshift Collectorate.”

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu