CHENNAI: Asserting that ensuring a clean city and administration is a top priority as envisioned by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy on Monday said many measures were being pursued to make Chennai a global city.
In his address at the conference on urban governance ‘Municipalika 2012,’ Duraisamy said the Chief Minister had been evincing a keen interest in the holistic development of the city and its suburbs.
Outlining initiatives including development of roads, prevention of flooding and better solid waste management, he said multi-level car parking facilities will be set up to ease congestion. “We intend to provide skywalks for road crossing and modern toilets for the common man. Our ultimate aim is to provide all basic amenities to ensure people’s healthy and happy living,” he said.
State Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Phanindra Reddy said the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) had exhausted its land bank acquired several decades ago. “Now, we are coming up with a land acquisition policy which entails payment of market value, value additions including developing a sizable chunk of the land of the owners to make them beneficiaries of growth”, he said.
Union Secretary of Urban Development Sudhir Krishna pitched for more satellite cities with proper connectivity to cities to ease congestion besides capacity building in municipal areas.
British Deputy High Commissioner Mike Nithavrianakis said his government was supporting formulation of fiscal incentives to promote low carbon industrial growth in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. “We have engaged UK consultants to support sustainable urban and industrial development in India.”
The UK Trade and Investment of the British government is a country partner in Municipalika 2012.
