CHENNAI: Arappor Iyakkam has urged the Tamil Nadu government to implement seven measures to prevent roads from being repeatedly raised, including withholding payments to contractors who violate the rules, and compensation of up to Rs.40 lakh for affected households.
The demands were raised at the organisation’s “Kelu TN Kelu” protest held near Rajarathinam Stadium in Egmore on Sunday, where residents from Chennai, Krishnagiri, Coimbatore, Tirupattur, Erode, Madurai and other districts shared their experiences of living in homes that have become lower than adjoining roads.
“The problem persists even in newly issued road tenders, with provisions that allow roads to be relaid without removing the existing surface,” said Arappor Iyakkam coordinator Jayaram Venkatesan.
The organisation said contractors must be required to mill the old road surface before laying a new bituminous layer, in accordance with applicable guidelines. It also called for road elevations to be measured against mean sea level (MSL), with benchmark stones installed and measurements recorded in the Measurement Book (MBook) and published online before and after the work. Photographs and videos documenting the milling depth and elevation measurements should also be made mandatory.
If road levels are raised in violation of the prescribed rules, payments to contractors should be withheld, the contractors blacklisted and departmental action initiated against the officials responsible, the organisation demanded.
The other recommendations include gradually lowering main roads in areas where their raised levels have left interior roads and homes at lower elevations, and setting up an expert committee to examine the problem and recommend solutions. The government should also provide compensation of up to Rs.40 lakh, calculated on a square-foot basis, to each household affected by raised roads.
“We have met officials and representatives of the departments concerned, including the Rural Development Department and the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department. They have indicated that orders would be issued, but no order has come out so far,” Jayaraman said. He stressed that issuing circulars alone would not be enough and that the government must monitor road works on the ground to ensure compliance.
The organisation said it had raised the issue with the government earlier, including through a report released in August, and would continue its campaign until the authorities issued directions and ensured that they were followed.