Chennai: The top brass of the state seems to be irked with civic engineers for delaying civic projects that were to be inaugurated by Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa along with the much-awaited Chennai metro rail project on Wednesday. While government departments such as animal husbandry, fisheries and transport were ready with their completed projects and schemes, corporation officials missed their project deadlines, sources said.
“Despite clear instructions to field engineers to speed up construction works of canteens, school buildings, community halls and noon meal centres, they missed their deadlines,” rued a ruling AIADMK party councillor. When top officials came to know that projects were incomplete and inaugurating them may bring bad repute to the state, they stalled the inaugural of civic projects. In some cases they were just declared open, as election dates are expected any time, the councillor said.
“In my ward, a crèche was to be inaugurated by the state on Wednesday, though there was no formal inaugural, the officials declared the facility open the next day. Similarly, an incomplete Amma canteen with empty dining hall in Ambattur was also declared open without any facilities,” said Congress councillor P.V. Thamizhselvan adding that the corporation was in a spree to declare open maximum projects in haste, ahead of the local body polls.
When contacted a senior corporation official said they were awaiting replies from errant engineers. A visit by this newspaper to a declared open Amma canteen in Egmore Government Eye Hospital revealed that there were no furniture and utensils, but the facility had a sportive inaugural look. Local staff, completing the pending work, told this correspondent that the canteen was already inaugurated, but it will start serving food to public, only by next week.
