Lack of law keeps cables dangling

CHENNAI: No matter on which road you are — be it in T Nagar, Anna Nagar, Triplicane, or Alwarpet —it is impossible to miss the cables dangling along the road. Not only do they deface the city but also pose a threat to commuters and birds. Lack of policy on penalizing the violators is one of the major reasons for the menace. Even corporation officials say they have the power only to remove the cables. “There is no law to penalize the violators or issue notices to them,” said an official in the electricals department of the corporation.

Assistant divisional engineers are instructed to remove unwanted cables daily. “They clear it periodically with the help of local optic fibre cable operators. The officials also bundle the cables on the poles to ensure they do not hang, thereby posing a threat to people,” said M Govinda Rao, deputy commissioner, Works.

To curb the menace, the civic body had increased the annual track rate to lay overhead cables in July 2018. The corporation has increased the rates from Rs 43,191 to Rs 47,510 a kilometre. On the other hand, the rate for laying underground cables remained at Rs 9,400 a kilometre to ensure more people opted for it. But it has not deterred the cable operators and other telecom companies that continue to erect cables illegally across the city.

So far, the civic body has snapped and collected cables that are about 200km long. “Every day, wires as long as 10km are snapped and taken to godowns. With more than 2.7 lakh street lights across the city and 4000km-long cables, it is impossible for a short-staffed department to do away with the menace,” said an official. These cables are stored at the ward offices and auctioned.

The civic body has given licences to about 20 telecommunication and internet companies to erect such cables. “But cable television operators are major violators who neither take permission nor pay any licence fees,” said an official.

Jayaram Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam said, “There should be a framework and laws should be made to penalize violators. The civic body cannot keep cutting cables all the time as it would not deter the violators. Instead, we should set up infrastructure to accommodate cables to ensure such illegality is removed. Lack of planning is a major issue.”