Chennai Corporation yet to complete re-laying of 996 roads begun two years ago

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is yet to complete the relaying of 996 roads that were begun over the past two financial years, even as it plans to undertake new road projects in the current fiscal. The civic body has also now dropped its plan to re-lay 509 of these 996 roads.

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is yet to complete the relaying of 996 roads that were begun over the past two financial years, even as it plans to undertake new road projects in the current fiscal. The civic body has also now dropped its plan to re-lay 509 of these 996 roads.

This financial year, the Corporation is planning to take up 532 roads to re-lay at a cost of ₹66.73 crore under funding from the State Finance Commission (SFC). There are 246 roads for which re-laying work worth ₹35.36 crore is under progress. Another 409 roads have been already completed at a cost of ₹48.25 crore under the same scheme.

There is also a proposal to relay 2,139 roads for an estimated cost of ₹257 crore under various other schemes, data from the GCC’s Bus Route Roads (BRRs) Department revealed.

In FY 2022-23, re-laying work for 3,611 BRRs and interior route roads (IRRs) for an estimated ₹427.51 crore was to be done. Of these, 3,304 were completed, 96 are under progress, and 50 are yet to be taken up, data from the GCC revealed. A total of 161 road were dropped from the re-laying plans, as per information available.

In 2023-24 the data showed, 6,517 roads are to be re-laid, of which 5,319 have been completed, 369 are under progress, 481 are yet to be taken up, and 348 were dropped.

GCC Commissioner J. Radhakrishnan said, apart from hassles due to rain, work by other service departments such as the Chennai Metrowater Supply and Sewage Board (CMWSSB) and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) are also reasons for road works being dropped or delayed.

Complaints on muddy and bad roads from Nehru Colony, Nanganallur under Ward 164, Wood Creek County in Nandambakkam under Ward 158, Hospital Road, Poothapedu Main Road at Chinna Porur and Lakshmi Nagar under Ward 151, and many other areas in West Mambalam, Mylapore, and Ambattur continue to emerge. With the schools to reopen on June 10, the public are concerned about the condition of the roads remaining unsafe.