THOOTHUKUDI: Kovilpatti municipal chairman Karunanidhi on Wednesday charged that the revenue of the municipality has been affected due to mismanagement of the previous AIADMK-led government.
The AIADMK party cadre had recently distributed pamphlets criticising the cancellation of road works sanctioned during the previous government. The pamphlet said that the AIADMK government had sanctioned 275 road rework projects at an estimated cost of `31 crore on November 11, 2020, and that the tenders were finalised in February 2021. However, the present DMK government cancelled around 137 road reworks projects valued at `12.17 crore on March 4, 2022. This is an injustice to the people of Kovilpatti, the pamphlet said.
The Kovilpatti chairman in a statement said the road rework projects were announced in a hurry when assembly elections were round the corner in 2021. Also, the funding was based on a loan with a huge rate of interest, he added.
While refuting the rival party's claims, Karunanidhi said the civic body does not have sufficient funds. The exchequer was drained only because of the AIADMK party's huge loan debts. And now they're trying to politicise it, and cover up their faults, he chided.
"Moreover, those works could not be implemented because of the tampered and haphazard pipelines crossing the roads at multiple locations. Had they done the pipeline work properly, such a problem would not have surfaced," he said, adding that the pipeline laying works are now being rectified so that roads can be reconstructed.
Instead of politicising it, Kovilpatti MLA Kadambur C Raju could lend his assembly constituency funds for laying the pipelines in the Kovilpatti municipal areas so that the public would be benefitted. We will welcome if the AIADMK legislator could contribute from their legislative assembly funds, Karunanidhi added.
Kovilpatti municipality initiated 20 projects under the urban development scheme, and one under the 'Namakku Naame scheme' besides 19 road works under the urban road infrastructure projects, he said, adding that the civic body has proposed another 77 projects.