Phase IV of UGD project allocated ₹221.39 crore to cover peripheral areas of Tiruchi city

Govt grants ₹221.39cr for Phase-IV of Tiruchi's UGD network. Mayor urges Councillors to list leftover areas. Central, State, and Corporation to share ₹73.06cr, ₹66.42cr, and ₹81.91cr respectively. Councillors raise issues of stray cattle, waste dumping, Sivaji Ganesan's statue. Mayor says steps being taken to open statue soon.

The State government has granted administrative sanction to execute Phase-IV of the underground drainage network under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 scheme in the leftover and peripheral areas of Tiruchi city at a cost of ₹221.39 crore.

During the Corporation Council meeting on Tuesday, Mayor M. Anbazhagan said the High Powered Steering Committee had accorded sanction to the Detailed Project Report forwarded by Tiruchi Corporation to execute the fourth phase of the underground drainage project that would cover all leftover areas in the first three phases of the UGD project. The Corporation would call for tenders soon after getting technical sanction from the government.

Mr. Anbazhagan urged the Councillors to come forward with a list of leftover areas in their wards to be included in the final phase. According to the Government Order, the share of Central, State, and Tiruchi Corporation in the fourth phase would be ₹73.06 crore, ₹66.42 crore, and ₹81.91 crore, respectively.

The ongoing underground drainage project under the second and third phases is likely to be completed by December as there is only 43 km to be covered, official sources said.

Councillor K.S. Nagarajan of DMK drew the attention of the Mayor to expedite the ongoing work on Vayalur Road. He said the poor condition of the road was causing accidents and traffic snarls.

Congress Councillor L. Rex brought up the issue of stray cattle and pigs menace on the roads and said motorists suffered particularly during the late hours due to hindrances caused by bovines to vehicular movement.

In his response, the Mayor said so far the city administration had impounded 248 heads of stray cattle and collected a total sum of ₹8.18 lakh by penalising the owners and auctioning the stray animals. He sought the cooperation of the councillors in cattle impounding drives.