The area sabha meetings held in different parts of the city provided a platform for residents to air their grievances on various civic issues on Tuesday.
The Tiruchi Municipal Corporation went ahead with its plan to conduct area sabha meetings as per the directive of the government, although councillors of various parties had opposed conducting the meetings and formation of ward committees and ward sabhas.
Mayor M. Anbazhagan presided over an area sabha meeting held on Pattabiraman Pillai Road in Thennur. Many residents belonging to Vannarapettai, General Bazaar, Pensioner’s Street, Meenkara Street, Molakollai Street, Malligaipuram and others in ward 27 participated in the meeting. Besides presenting petitions, the residents drew the attention of Mayor and other officials to the slow progress of underground drainage works. They also highlighted the sufferings of the people on driving vehicles on roads dug up for the UGD works. They urged the officials to expedite the works.
Mr. Anbazhagan said the UGD works had been expedited. While some of the roads including Thennur Main Road had been relaid, steps would be taken to relay the interior roads. All roads would be relaid within two months. The petitions received from the public would be sent to various departments for taking suitable action, he said.
R. Vaithinathan, Corporation Commissioner, said the area sabha meetings would improve participation of the residents. Secretaries, nominated to the area sabhas as per the government’s directive, had noted down their demands. The ongoing schemes in the respective areas were placed before the sabhas. The area sabha meetings would be held in once in three months.
School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi participated in an area sabha meeting at Kottapattu.
However, according to sources, the members to the ward committees and area sabhas, as stipulated by the Government Orders 93 and 94 dated June 24, 2022, of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, were yet to be nominated. The meetings were held without nominating members to the committees.
When contacted Mr. Vaithinathan said that members of the committees as per the directive would be appointed soon.
Several residents complained that the area sabha meetings were conducted in haste. Many of them were kept in the dark about the meetings. K. Janardhanan, a resident of Bheema Nagar, said that the place and timing of the meetings should have been announced well in advance. Meetings were held with the participation of just a handful of persons and it did not serve any purpose, he said.
