COIMBATORE: Councillors of the ruling AIADMK, including East Zone Chairman K R Jayaram, demanded a new City Engineer in place of N Natarajan during the Corporation Council on Monday.
As he was not working efficiently, numerous works of the Corporation have not progressed for years, they said.
“Work on the 5.7-km pipeline from Ramakrishnapuram overhead tank to DJ Nagar near Hopes beagn in mid-2013. It is held up as the Thanner Pandal railway gate is on the route. The City Engineer is not taking steps to get the Railway’s permission to lay the pipeline, for which ‘trenchless technology’ can be used,” said Jayaram.
“The work has been stalled for nearly 20 months due to lack of the Railways’ approval. The project is not for myself, but for the people of East Zone. If the pipeline is laid, drinking water supply in many localities in Singanallur will improve,” he added.
Ward 57 councillor R Marappan said that though the contract to lay the pipeline in the Masakkalipalayam Road area was awarded 10 months ago, work has not begun. Repeated requests for it have been of no use.
The City Engineer’s lethargic attitude is behind lack of progress in works taken up by the Engineering Department. People are not benefiting by any of them, the councillors said.
Mayor P Rajkumar also said he was not satisfied with the City Engineer as works assigned to him were not completed in time. He was also pulled up for not informing the Commissioner of the progress in engineering works.
The Mayor asked the City Engineer and Executive Engineer to complete the works at the earliest.
He also directed all zonal assistant commissioners, assistant engineers and zonal sanitary inspectors to be present when inspections are carried out. They would be suspended if they remain absent, he added.