With poll code lifted, GCC to hold meeting to review civic works

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is acceptable to resume full-scale operations, and plans to clasp its archetypal ceremonial reappraisal gathering successful 70 days, this week. Many civic activities remained stagnant since mid-March arsenic Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was successful spot and the deployment of unit for predetermination duties.

“Projects for which we person issued tenders, but are yet to commence, including roadworthy relaying and pavement-laying works, volition beryllium reviewed, and enactment volition statesman arsenic soon arsenic possible,” a elder GCC authoritative told The Hindu.

While astir 70% of scheduled roadworthy projects were completed earlier the predetermination hiatus, the remaining 30% — on with assorted pending footpath works — volition present beryllium prioritised for completion earlier the onset of monsoon.

Crackdown connected violations

The Corporation besides plans to ace down connected civic violations that proliferated during the predetermination period. Fines volition soon beryllium imposed connected defaulters, specifically targeting those violating Construction and Demolition (C&D) discarded regulations, amerciable banners and flags, and those caught unfastened dumping.

Officials noted a caller surge successful amerciable governmental banners and AI-generated imagery featuring State emblems, peculiarly successful areas specified arsenic Teynampet and Anna Nagar.

“We volition travel the accustomed process of removing banners wrong a time oregon 2 of the event,” the authoritative added, noting that stricter enforcement was antecedently paused to debar local-level friction during polling.

New contracts

Contractors awaiting payments for completed works tin expect settlements arsenic the authorities stabilises, the authoritative added. While the GCC faces a impermanent fiscal “pinch” owed to an exceptional measurement of superior projects taken up successful the past fiscal year, officials expect the gross presumption to stabilize wrong the adjacent six months arsenic authorities grants and beforehand taxation collections arrive, helium stated.

Fresh tenders for indispensable infrastructure are besides expected to beryllium issued soon to guarantee a “saturation mode” for municipality inferior services. On May 11, 41 caller tenders were published connected the Tamil Nadu Tenders Portal.

This follows a signifier of high-volume procurement. In February alone, the GCC published implicit 1,200 tenders, including 121 floated during the State Budget presumption connected February 17 — a important summation from the 39 opened during the 2024 budget. However, the velocity of these processes has drawn scrutiny regarding transparency.