Despite opposition, Kodaikanal Municipality goes ahead with beautification project

Despite stiff opposition from local residents and environmental activists not to go ahead with the beautification project in Kodaikanal, the Municipal administration has almost completed and given a ‘facelift’ to the lake, the most preferred spot for the tourists, among other locations, at a cost of ₹24 crore.

Despite stiff opposition from local residents and environmental activists not to go ahead with the beautification project in Kodaikanal, the Municipal administration has almost completed and given a ‘facelift’ to the lake, the most preferred spot for the tourists, among other locations, at a cost of ₹24 crore.

Following complaints from some of the tax-paying citizens that the works were being executed in a ‘hurried’ manner by the authorities as the season is set to begin, The Hindu team visited the hill station on Thursday.

Kodaikanal Municipal Commissioner S. Narayanan said that every year around 75 lakh people visited the hills from far and near. “We need to beautify the place. Of course, we have taken all precautions required to protect the ecosystem,” he maintained.

The civic authorities said that Kodaikanal being a tourist spot, there was a need for the facelift, which attracted the visitors. When 93% of the people here were dependent on the hospitality and service sectors and 7% on agriculture and horticulture, the government had the responsibility to spend its funds on renovation and modernisation of public structures at periodic intervals, Mr Narayanan said.

On the allegations that the civic authorities had neglected the laws and constructed permanent structures such as urinals within 50 metres of the lake, he said that they could not allow open defecation. Only three urinals existed around the lake, which was not sufficient. “Hence, we have built a few more urinals that is collected and disposed of safely by conservancy workers in the sewage collection tank.”

He rejected the charges that the urinals would get mixed or drain in the lake due to poor upkeep.

Members of the Palani Hills Conservation Council and INTACH in Kodaikanal said that they were not blindly opposed to beautification. But, the apprehension was that the civic authorities should entrust it to the right people, who had a better working knowledge and could give a mix of both modernity in the look and also preserve the ecosystem.