Delay in completion of Smart City Mission projects draws flak

Residents in the city have expressed concern over the delay in completing the Smart City Mission projects in Tiruchi, which are dragging beyond their scheduled completion date.

Residents in the city have expressed concern over the delay in completing the Smart City Mission projects in Tiruchi, which are dragging beyond their scheduled completion date.

Out of the 83 projects proposed for ₹965 crore in the city under the Smart City Mission, the civic body is yet to complete around 20 of them, including the underground drainage network improvement.

“Since most of the major roads are dug up for underground drainage (UGD) work, residents face a tough time navigating the roads, especially during the recent rainfall,” said N. Jamaludeen, a resident of Anna Nagar. Residents rue that the situation will get worse during the monsoon because of the ongoing work on the long-delayed underground drainage project.

“Infrastructure projects like multi-level car parking would help ease traffic congestion caused due to indiscriminate parking in the busy areas,” said M. Shanmugam, a resident.

While March 2023 was the initial deadline to commission the pending projects that commenced before the COVID-19 pandemic, the civic body has revised the deadline to June, and now since the works are still in different phases of execution, they have yet again extended the deadline to August. “Works are in full swing, and the contractors have been instructed to expedite the civil work,” said a senior Corporation official.

According to officials, substantial progress has been made in the execution of the UGD project in which works were under way on about 848 km. “Around 90% of the UGD work has been completed, and the remaining works on 51 km will be over by August. We have also increased workers to speed up the process,” the official added.

The Corporation is also expediting the construction of the commercial complex in Puthur, the multi-level car parking on Kaliammankoil Street and Heritage Park on Butterworth Road, which would be completed within two months.