An IT professional turned ward councillor, Niranjana Jagadeesan says, “Improving facilities for education in Ward 51 in Chennai is my priority as I firmly believe that only education can give confidence to individuals, especially girls.”
Her journey into politics is akin to many first-time women councillors of Chennai. Niranjana’s husband is active in politics. “I used to work in an IT company. Since Ward 51 was reserved for women candidates, my husband asked if I would contest the polls. I was managing a team in the IT company, and here I will be managing a ward. At the end of the day, it comes down to people management and problem-solving, which I am interested in. So, I decided to participate in the elections,” she says.
Ward 51
- Name of Councillor: Niranjana Jegadeesan
- Party: DMK
- Age: 30
- Educational Qualification: BE
- Contact: 9445467051 / 9841574740
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Excerpts from an interview:
Primary goals for Ward 51 in Chennai
What are your primary achievements after taking over as Councillor of Ward 51?
Ward 51 is the smallest in Chennai. Around 75% of the ward includes commercial areas. Traffic congestion, poor road conditions and garbage are major issues in Ward 51.
We first decided to regulate the street vendors to ease the traffic on MC Road. As part of the Smart City Mission, the government planned to replicate the Pondy Bazaar model on MC Road. However, this did not happen for over two and a half years because of resistance from the street vendors. After I took charge as the councillor, we had talks with the vendors and slowly started regulating them. The works are underway now. There won’t be any roadside shops. We will shift the street vendors to demarcated vending zones. The road will be used only for walking and other commercial activities like in Pondy Bazar.
Around 60% of the road renovation works are over now. Moreover, we have made proposals for the repair of other roads and are awaiting approval from the government.
As there is a high level of commercial activity in Ward 51, the amount of garbage generated is twice that collected in residential areas. This was the major cause of the waste mismanagement in the ward. Since the garbage was not collected frequently, people started dumping the waste in an old shed. This became a breeding ground for mosquitoes and started posing health hazards for the residents. To address this issue, we have increased the frequency of garbage collection and also the manpower. At least a 50% improvement can be seen now.
Connecting with the residents
How do you interact with the constituents of your ward? What kind of outreach activities have you held so far?
Most residents have my official and personal phone numbers. They also contact me directly or send their grievances via WhatsApp at any time. I respond almost immediately. In addition, we have a WhatsApp group, and some residents visit my office. Once I receive a complaint, I forward it to the respective official. We inform the complainant of the timeline for resolving the issue and keep them updated at every step.
How have you used your Ward Development Fund of Rs 35 lakhs?
I have built a multi-purpose hall and provided the additional funds needed for ongoing school construction work. Also, the reconstruction work for old housing boards is going on in my ward. A part of my funds went into paying the rental compensation for families living in the housing board.
Issues in Ward 51
When the pedestrian plaza came up in Pondy Bazar, the main complaint was that it invisibilised the street vendors. How do you plan to address the issue in the MC Road project?
Our intentions are only to ease the traffic on MC road. As part of the project, a commercial complex (single floor) with 135 shops will be constructed. Following the consultation with street vendors, we have requested the GCC to build a two-storey building to accommodate the vendors. As many as 230 vendors have been enumerated in MC Road and we will try to accommodate all of them in the newly constructed building.
Families from the housing boards chosen for reconstruction have flagged the rental compensation of Rs 24,000 as insufficient. Moreover, shifting to a rental home pushes them into a debt trap. How do you address this issue?
Once the demolition is completed, it will take 18 months to rebuild the houses. We have given them an option. They can either take Rs 24,000 and wait for allocation after the reconstruction is completed in the same site or they can opt for allocation in any of the nearby housing board sites like Manali or Mint. However, if they opt for the latter, they cannot ask for another house on the reconstructed site.
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Sanitation and flood mitigation measures
North Chennai generally has less number of public toilets and this is also one of the issues in Ward 51. What have you done to address this issue?
Ward 51 is a congested area and it includes extremely old sections such as Jegannathan Street, NN Garden Main Street and West Cemetery Road. Since the public toilet on West Cemetery Road is in bad shape, we plan to reconstruct it. This work will be taken up alongside the housing board reconstruction.
Flooding is also a major issue in your area. What kind of mitigation measures have you taken to sort this out?
During the 2023 floods, around five to six streets were flooded. The water remained stagnant for two to three days. The major issue was that the pipeline connecting to the outlet drain was blocked. Since the pipeline was running below a private property we were unable to spot the blockage. We have constructed a separate pipeline connecting it to the main drain now. The water was stagnant in the same street this year too, but it drained faster.
Vision for Ward 51
What do you hope to achieve in your term as Councillor?
I hope to regulate the garbage collection in the commercial areas of Ward 51 and address the mosquito problem, especially in residential areas. I also hope to finish all the road renovation work before the end of my tenure.
We have seen many children, especially girls, drop out of school. I have informed the teachers to go to their homes, speak to the parents about the importance of education and bring the children back to school. We are ensuring that students, who left school after class 10 come back to finish higher secondary. I should appreciate the school heads for this initiative.
I also want to make the locality safe for women and children. We are trying to get funds to install CCTV cameras to ensure their safety.
What is your vision for Chennai?
The weather predictions are much better now and we have stepped up mitigation measures accordingly. With all the necessary steps in place, I hope to see a flood-free Chennai.
What the residents of Ward 51 in Chennai say:
Manikam, a street vendor from MC Road fears loss of business due to the Smart City project. “The government says that their priority is only to ease the traffic on MC Road. The same promise was made to the street vendors of Pondy Bazar. Their business was severely affected after they were shifted to the commercial complex. Not all the vendors were allocated the shops in the commercial complex too. We wish the government takes the lessons from Pondy Bazar and does not repeat the same mistakes,” he says.
