Six panels formed to suggest measures for city development

Even as Tiruchi Corporation is gearing up for possible inclusion of the city under the phase-II of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), six committees have been formed to suggest measures and make recommendations on various aspects of city development. The corporation, through a consultant, is already engaged in drawing up a city development plan (CDP) in anticipation of getting funds under the JNNURM and the committees’ inputs would strengthen the CDP.

While a policy committee with the Mayor as chairperson and eight other members, including the deputy mayor and the Commissioner, would give the broad policy guidelines, five other technical groups have been constituted under various heads. The Mayor would also be the ex-officio member of all the technical groups.

The city engineer would head a technical group comprising the corporation engineers and Works Committee Chairman on land use and infrastructure.

The Commissioner would be chair of another group on municipal institutional strengthening. The city health office would head a group on environment, sustainable development and disaster mitigation, and another on social and livelihoods and local economic development. The executive engineer (east) would head a group on heritage, conservation, culture, and tourism development.

The heritage committee includes representatives from the Tiruchi chapter of Indian Institute of Architects and Tiruchi chapter of Institute of Engineers and officials from various temples in the city.

The first meetings of the policy and technical groups on land use and municipal institutional strengthening were held on Thursday.

At a meeting of the policy committee, Mayor A.Jaya said plans were being drawn up to meet the infrastructure and civic needs of the city over the next 50 years.

Corporation Commissioner V.P.Thandapani and other members of the committees attended the meetings.