Greater Chennai Corporation

A year ago while I was looking into the spate of evictions in Chennai, I came across the heart-wrenching story of 115 families in Kannappar Thidal. Around 62 families, who were living on the streets near the Ripon building, were evicted in 2002 by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) as their presence was found to be an obstacle to the then-ongoing sporting events and developmental work in the nearby Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. These families were provided a temporary shelter in a building that was originally used to house load-men working in the nearby Southern Railways goods shed. They were promised…

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…

Projects for clean air to be launched in Chennai The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will initiate a slew of schemes to improve air quality in the city. The projects in the pipeline include mechanised cleaning of polluted roads, robust policy for non-motorised transport and revamping of on-street parking in the city. The civic body will also look to create more dedicated cycle tracks across the city.  A city-based NGO also submitted a memorandum to the civic body on the efforts to clean up the air in the city. The memorandum called for the shelving of some of the projects of…

CMWSSB cracks down on illegal connections The Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) has begun to clamp down on unauthorised sewage and water connections in the city. The move comes on the heels of an order by the Madras High Court.  As part of the drive,  the CMWSSB has identified a total of 1597 illegal water and sewage connections. Manali and Madhavaram have the highest number of illegal connections as per data from the CMWSSB. The illegal connections have been disconnected with more drives across the city’s 200 wards planned.  The crackdown covers properties that have secured water…

MRTS operations on one line suspended temporarily MRTS services between Beach - Chintadripet will be suspended for a period of seven months. The suspension will be in effect from August 27. The Southern Railways has undertaken the decision to pause services in order to carry out work on the fourth line between Beach - Egmore. For the duration of the suspension, the trains from Beach - Velachery will run from Chintadripet - Velachery. The number of services along the line will drop from 122 to 80. Commuters can expect trains at a duration of 15 to 20 minutes. In order…

Black, foul-smelling, stagnant water - this is what one will find when they go in search of the Mambalam Canal which was once one of the significant freshwater canals in the city.  In its heydays, the canal used to carry surplus water from two major tanks - the Nungambakkam tank and the Mambalam tank - that existed some four decades ago. Due to urbanisation, the entire watershed area of these tanks now has residential and commercial establishments in it.  The path followed by the original canal starts near Valluvar Kottam and passes through T Nagar and CIT Nagar before draining…

Telemedicine services launched at RGGGH Chennai’s largest government hospital, the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, has rolled out telemedicine services for various specialities. The consultations will take place between Monday to Saturday. The departments that are covered include paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, dermatology, surgery, general medicine and geriatrics. The teleconsultation service will be available from 9 am to 12 noon. The service can be availed by those who are over 18 years of age. The departments will operate on staggered timings each day for six days of the week. The service has been launched with a view to help elderly…

"I studied in a government school and grew up in a place where there were no basic amenities. So I know the struggles of the people in my Ward through lived experience and I strive to make life easy for them," says A Priyadharshini of Ward 98 in Chennai, the youngest Councillor in Chennai. Politics is very much part of Priyadharshini's family. "Both my mother and father are members of the Communist Party of India(Marxist) for more than 25 years. I was also part of the Students Federation of India (SFI) during my school days. Later, during my college days,…