COIMBATORE: If everything goes as planned, the Coimbatore city corporation would be the largest civic body in the state. The corporation has sent a proposal to the state govt to merge a municipality, four town panchayats and 11 village panchayats with it, taking its administrative area to 438.54 square kilometres (sqkm) from the current 257.04sqkm. If the govt approves the proposal, the city corporation would exceed the size of Greater Chennai Corporation, the administrative area of which spans 426sqkm.
The proposal seeks to add Kurudampalayam, Somayampalayam, Perur Chettipalayam, Keeranatham, Neelambur, Mylampatti, Pattanam, Vellanaipatti, Kallipalayam, Chinniyampalayam and Seerapalayam village panchayats, Irugur, Perur, Pallapalayam and Vellalore town panchayats, and Madukkarai municipality to the city corporation.
City corporation commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran said this was a tentative list. “We have not received any official order regarding the expansion. Many changes are likely before finalizing the list.”
City mayor K Ranganayaki said the list was prepared before the Lok Sabha elections. “Now, the list has been finalized. Once the proposal is approved, additional 50 wards will be added to the existing 100 wards.”
The proposal has sparked mixed reactions from elected representatives and the residents of areas under consideration for inclusion, with some opposing the move and others welcoming it.
Pointing out that Madukkarai town panchayat was upgraded to a municipality on September 11, 2021, G Jagadeesh, councillor from ward 24 in the municipality, said the move hadn’t benefitted the residents much. “Property taxes and building plan approval charges were increased three years ago and they are likely to increase again if the municipality is merged with the corporation.”
He said they would oppose the proposal if the govt were to seek comments and objections from the public. “If Madukkarai municipality is added to the corporation, the number of ward councillors will be reduced from the current 27 to just two. In addition, there will only be one corporation zonal office for the entire area and the same will be located at Kuniyamuthur, which is six kilometres away. The public won’t have adequate representation or easy access to services,” he said.
G Jeyakumar, vice-president of Irugur town panchayat, noted similar proposals to merge Irugur with the corporation were made in 2006 and 2010 as well. “At that time, we opposed the move and passed a resolution against it. The merger didn’t happen then.”
He said Irugur had seen rapid development in the past 14 years. “An international cricket stadium is being planned in our area, airport expansion work is set to begin soon and there is a proposal to establish a central bus stand near the L&T bypass road. Given these developments, it will be better to merge with the corporation to gain more infrastructure. Hence, we welcome the move.”
B Kumar, a resident of Keeranatham village panchayat, expressed concerns over the move. “We don’t view this as a positive development. Our village president and ward members are easily approachable, regardless of political affiliations. If we are merged with the corporation, we fear we may lose our present advantage in getting grievances resolved. The merger is likely to lead to a steep increase in taxes, but we may not receive adequate services in return.”
Deepam Swaminathan, coordinator, Coimbatore South Development Federation, said Kurichi municipality had benefitted from its merger with the corporation in 2011. “Earlier, roads were in poor condition. After the merger, roads were expanded.
Kurichi Lake was included in the smart city project. Street lighting has improved, Siruvani water is now available for drinking and underground drainage work is in progress. I believe the expansion will benefit the people of new areas to be added to the corporation in a similar way.”
