COIMBATORE: Residents and social activists point out that despite shelling out crores of money for beautification works under the Coimbatore Smart City Projects, saplings planted in Race Course have been left to wither. The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) is spending over Rs 40 crore for the beautification of the Race Course in Ward 66. But officials have failed to maintain the saplings that were planted as part of the works.
Sudharshan, a resident of Race Course told TNIE, “Numerous trees were felled for the development works in Race Course despite our opposition. Now, the officials have failed to maintain the plants on the Race Course Road properly, despite top officials, including the collector, police commissioner and the corporation commissioner residing on the road.”
Ward 66 councillor P Muniyammal said officials don’t water the plants regularly and were rude to her.
CCMC Deputy Commissioner Dr M Sharmila told TNIE, “We will be floating tenders for all the smart city projects in the city, and the highest bidder will be given the contract to maintain the facilities. By the end of this week, we shall float tenders. Until then, we have installed a drip irrigation system to water the plants.”