TIRUCHY: With its merger with the Tiruchy Corporation nowhere in sight, around 4,000 families of Anna Nagar continue to struggle with poorly-maintained infrastructure, despite the court's order presenting a solution. Developed in 1984 by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB), Anna Nagar featured amenities like Under Ground Drainage (UGD), a water treatment plant and others.
The houses were occupied mostly by the workers of the nearby Ordnance Factory Tiruchirapalli (OFT) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). The TNHB continued to maintain the area until 1998 when the area was bifurcated and the administration handed over to the Navalpattu and Kumbakudi panchayats, said P Periyasamy, one of the residents.
"Since the panchayats lacked modern equipment to handle the UGD and other facilities, they fell into disrepair over a period of time, requiring immediate replacement," he added. When the residents approached the panchayat with their grievances, the administration would always point to the paucity of funds. Unable to get the demands fulfilled, the residents filed a writ petition with the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court seeking immediate action on the management of the area.
Further, he added, upon the court's direction, K Rajamani, then Tiruchy collector, undertook an inspection of the area and submitted a detailed report highlighting the glaring inefficiency of the panchayats, recommending that Anna Nagar be merged with the Tiruchy Corporation.
Ordering the merger, the court then ordered the panchayat to deploy the corporation's desludging vehicles for the time being to clean the UGD and also to maintain the two sewage treatment plants which had gone obsolete. Pointing to the court order, S Arumugam, a resident, said the panchayat administration employed private vehicles for the desludging instead of the corporation vehicles.
"The private cleaning vehicles had the lesser capacity and could suck out the waste only to a certain extent, because of which the problem of UGD clogging has persisted," he added. Of the 150 roads laid by the TNHB 30 years ago, the panchayat could relay only about 15%, said V Manikavasagam, a resident, and the remaining roads were in a state of disrepair.
"Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) should send a proposal after studying the geography of the area, which should then be considered by the state government and the final decision regarding the merger is in the hands of the state government," Tiruchy district Collector M Pradeep Kumar said.