CHENNAI BUZZ

Greater Chennai Corporation coordinates with other departments to resolve civic issues Following the first widespread heavy rains this Northeast monsoon, the Greater Chennai Corporation received as many as 401 complaints as of November 15. This includes 276 complaints about water stagnation, 97 about faulty streetlights, 16 about trees, 5 about sewage overflow and 4 complaints about power supply disruption. Corporation Commissioner Dr J Radhakrishnan told the media persons that the GCC officials are coordinating with the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) and the Electricity department to resolve issues on sewage flow and junction boxes. The GCC is…

Mosquito breeding sites identified by GCC The Greater Chennai Corporation has located sites where there is extensive mosquito breeding in the city. The civic body has tagged 1500 such sites across the city. The sites include commercial buildings and spots that are under construction. The exercise has been underway since August. Thiruvottiyur zone has the highest number of mosquito breeding sites, followed by Manali.  Mosquito breeding and the onset of monsoon have caused a spike in Dengue cases in the city with the current tally for the year at 493. The civic body has undertaken several mosquito control measures in…

GCC to work with NGOs for stray dog census The Greater Chennai Corporation is planning to work with various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to carry out the census of stray dogs in Chennai. The census will be part of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme that will ensure that all strays in the city are sterilised. A comprehensive policy for the census, vaccination and sterilisation of strays will also be evolved by the civic body.  The meeting of the civic body officials also flagged the issue of the city having only two NGOs which have been authorised to carry out sterilisations.…

Kasimedu fishing harbour to be modernised Funds worth Rs 98 crore have been sanctioned by the union government for the modernisation of the Kasimedu fishing harbour. The total cost of the modernisation project is Rs 127 crore. The remaining funds will be contributed by the Fishing Harbour Management Committee (FHMG). The project is expected to be carried out in six phases, with the deadline in 2025. Work on the first phase will begin shortly. Plans for the upgrade include the construction of a fish handling complex, boar repair facility, cold storage facility, improved drinking water facilities and proper waste management. …

New biogas plants to be operational next year Chennai will get more biogas plants across various zones by February 2024. The plants will be established at the direction of the Greater Chennai Corporation. Currently, there are two biogas plants operational at Chetpet and Madhavaram. These plants generate 6 tonnes of biogas per day through the processing of waste. New biogas plants are expected to come up in Manali, Shollinganallur and Koyambedu. These plants will have a processing capacity of 500, 200 and 200 tonnes of waste respectively. Around 30% of the city’s waste is expected to be processed by all…

Stale meat found in Chennai eateries In a crackdown by the officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) around 400 kgs of meat was confiscated from restaurants and eateries. The inspection was carried out in and around the Koyambedu area on push-carts and eateries. Officials found a range of violations such as improper storage of food, stale food, and rotten meat such as mutton, chicken, beef, pork and fish being used to make food. The inspection follow on the heels of multiple reports of illness for patrons due to the poor quality of food being served…

Elevated corridor to come up on Mount Road The State Highways department has invited bids for the construction of an elevated corridor above the metro tunnel on Mount Road. The elevated corridor will be 3.2 km long and have four lanes and the width of the flyover will be 34m. Footpaths measuring 2m will be present on both sides.  The flyover will allow vehicles to drive up to a speed of 80 km/ph and cut travel time between Teynampet and Saidapet to under 10 minutes. The budget for the project is Rs 525 crore.  The project will commence after clearance…

Suggestions sought from survey of North Chennai The Rs 1000 crore Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam will see development of various key infrastructure in North Chennai. Neglected areas in the region will soon get model school, sports facilities, amenities such as walking paths and cycling tracks and sprucing up of existing public spaces such as parks and playfields.  The project will be carried out by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), Tamil Nadu Urban Habitate Development Board (TNUHDB) and Department of Town and Country Planning. Read estate firm CBRE has been roped in to conduct surveys…

Chennai Corporation to relay 61 roads The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is set to relay a total of 61 roads across the city. The roads have been chosen based on complaints received on social media about their poor state. The civic body has put together a comprehensive report based on photos shared on the poor condition of the roads since June this year. The work is expected to be carried out in the coming weeks and completed before the onset of the northeast monsoon. Some of the roads identified are in areas such as Mugalivakkam, Porur, Madhavaram and Madipakkam. The…

Civic body to revise company tax The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has plans to revise company tax by at least three times the present figures. The revision will come into effect in the second half of this fiscal year. This move has been made with a view to improving the civic body’s finances and revising tax rates that have remained unchanged over many years. Earlier the civic body had revised property tax rates in the city.  With the revision, companies that have an investment less than a lakh will now pay Rs 300 as company tax. Those with investments less…