COIMBATORE: A city-based road safety activist has decided to file a contempt of court petition with the Madras High Court blaming senior officials of the Tamil Nadu Government and the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) over the relaying of roads without properly milling.
K Kathirmathiyon, a member of the Coimbatore district Road Safety Committee and secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause, cited continued non-compliance to official orders despite repeated representations. He claimed relaying without milling violates court orders and government instructions in this regard.
Raising the matter he has served notices to the Secretary of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department, the Director of Municipal Administration (DMA), and the CCMC Commissioner.
According to Kathirmathiyon, the issue dates back to a writ petition filed by Coimbatore Consumer Cause in 2020, following which the State government gave an undertaking before the High Court that the height of roads would not be increased "under any circumstance" while relaying them.
Based on this, the Chief Secretary and the Commissioner of Municipal Administration issued detailed instructions mandating milling or scraping of existing road surfaces before relaying, preparation of longitudinal section drawings to maintain the finished road level, and inclusion of strict clauses in tender documents to penalise violations.
However, Kathirmathiyon complained that these directions have been routinely ignored by local bodies, including the CCMC, resulting in a steady increase in road heights across the city. He said this has caused serious problems for residents, including water stagnation, flooding of houses, and damage to property entrances.
In the legal notice sent to the officials, Kathirmathiyon stated that no longitudinal section drawings are prepared either before or after road relaying works, and that many officials are unaware of the mandatory guidelines. He further stated that information boards displaying project details and road levels, as required by the orders, are rarely installed at work sites.
The activist pointed out that earlier notices issued in February 2024 and November 2024 elicited no response from the authorities. A pre-contempt notice was also served in September 2025, but the lack of any response or action has prompted him to proceed with contempt proceedings.
"The orders of the High Court and the government are being wantonly disobeyed," Kathirmathiyon said, adding that accountability must be fixed to prevent further hardship to the public.
Speaking to TNIE, CCMC Commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran said, "There has been no official GO in regard to milling every single road before relaying them. Also, there are no proper court directions in this regard too. If the court orders for milling, our higher authorities will instruct on it. And, relaying every single road only after milling is not possible and it's a costly affair. Only certain roads need milling. A road loses its structural integrity if milling is carried out every single time while relaying it. There are many ways other than milling to prevent waterlogging and inundation issues. The government will respond to the petition and give us necessary instructions."