Date:12/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121259100300.htm

Tamil Nadu

Cash-strapped local body starved of basic facilities zone in

K.Manikandan

Peerkankaranai is one of such urban local bodies in Chennai

— Photo: A.Muralitharan

LYING UNFULFILLED: Rejuvenation of the Peerkankaranai Lake is one of the major demands of the residents and elected representatives of the town panchayat.

TAMBARAM: The Peerkankaranai town panchayat near Tambaram is one of urban local bodies not only in Chennai but also across the State, which depend entirely on government support to provide basic amenities to its residents.

Shortage of funds and inadequate land space for developmental projects are two most important reasons for the urban local body to lag behind its neighbours, Tambaram Municipality and Perungalathur town panchayat.

Upgraded as a second-grade town panchayat in 1984, Peerkankaranai is spread over just 2.89 square km. Though the population more than doubled from 17,511 in 2001 as per the census to about 40,000 at present, the quality of basic amenities in its 15 wards are far from satisfactory, complain residents.

The Grand Southern Trunk Road and the railway track near the Perungalathur railway station split the Peerkankaranai town panchayat into two equal halves.

Residents of the newly formed localities have been complaining that the condition of streets is awful and the state of other amenities, including culverts (minor bridges) and drains, are no better. There are some pockets that have not seen any development works in many years. Drinking water is an area of concern as Peerkankaranai is not part of any combined water supply scheme.

D.Rajendran, chairman of the town panchayat, said they were dependent solely on financial assistance from the State government for implementing welfare measures. The only means of revenue generated locally is taxes from residents and some commercial establishments, amounting to only about Rs.60 lakh a year, a sum barely sufficient to run the administrative machinery on a daily basis.

Hence, they look up to the State government for support. With funds sanctioned through schemes of the Commissionerate of Town Panchayats, they were managing. The eastern side of the town panchayat is surrounded for a major portion by Indian Air Force Station in Tambaram, forest land and the sprawling Peerkankaranai Lake spread over 30 acres. On the western side, there is hardly any land available for starting revenue generating industrial establishments, according to Mr. Rajendran.

They had sent proposals to the State government to rejuvenate the Peerkankaranai Lake so that they could launch boating in order to generate additional income. “It might not bring in substantial revenue, but would make a significant contribution to the town panchayat’s funds,” he said, adding that the proposals never took off.

The local body is not part of the Tambaram-Pallavaram Combined Water Supply Scheme and hence dependent on local sources from which it supplies water to its residents.

Another problem they face is flooding of many wards as a result of problems originating elsewhere. In the absence of proper culverts across the GST Road, rainwater from the Perungalathur and Tambaram areas entered many localities of the town panchayat. Despite the problems including funds crunch, the town panchayat is at present implementing development works in all wards.

The State government has recently announced that Peerkankaranai is also included in the list of local bodies selected for implementing the underground drainage project.

Its estimated cost is around Rs.19 crore, according to Mr. Rajendran.