No trace of 16 roads laid by Coimbatore corporation at Rs 2 crore

COIMBATORE: A Right to Information (RTI) reply showed that the city corporation spent around Rs 1.82 crore for laying 16 roads in the old ward numbers 38, 39, 40 and 44 under the Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund (TURIF) in the 2019-20 financial year. However, residents say no road has been laid in the said period in those areas.
According to the information obtained by RTI activist S P Thiagarajan, the city corporation had issued 156 work orders to lay fresh roads using various funds during 2016- 21. “One of the work orders pertained to laying 16 roads in the above wards in the north zone.” Thiagarajan first learnt that Dispensary Road at Peelamedu, one of the 16 roads relaid as per the RTI reply, was in a bad condition for several years. He then visited other 15 streets and found that none of the roads were relaid in the period, while the contractors were paid for the work.
TOI visited Dispensary Road at Peelamedu, Jaganathapuram Road, Sengaliapppan Nagar and Cape Neem Land near Sengaliappan Nagar, which are among the 16 roads. Residents said the roads were not relaid for more than 10 years. Thiyagarajan said a total of 1,562 metres long road should have been laid with the money allotted under the fund. “TURIF has a strict monitoring mechanism and money for the work will be released only after inspection and approval by an external agency. Corporation officials must explain the discrepancies.”
Corporation commissioner M Prathap, after conducting an inquiry into the issue, said roads covering 11, 230sqm were supposed to be laid using the fund. While roads were laid, they were not laid in places where they were planned. “Officials should have taken a deviation order if they wanted to take up roads other than approved under the fund, but the rule was not followed. The agency which was supposed to check and approve the roads did not flag any issues. Taking up unapproved roads was wrong on the part of the concerned assistant engineer. Appropriate action will be taken against the official,” he said.
Thiyagarajan asked the corporation to release details of the roads that were laid instead of the 16 roads under the fund. “Without records how can one prove that roads were laid.” He said action should be taken against all officials, including assistant executive engineer and executive engineer, who failed to supervise the works and do their duties, rather than putting the blame only on an assistant engineer. “Those officials made fools out of residents who have been waiting for new roads for years.”