Roads, Special Road Programme, Sanction of Rs.1,000 Crore for Restoration of Roads in Urban Local Bodies

What the government approved

The Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MA.3) Department, through G.O. (Ms.) No. 80, dated 24 May 2015, granted administrative sanction for road restoration and laying works costing Rs.1,000 crore in urban local bodies.

The programme responds to road damage associated with:

• Installation or improvement of water supply and sewerage lines.
• Underground sewerage schemes and water supply schemes undertaken by urban local bodies.
• Unseasonal rains in certain areas.
• The need to maintain road quality as urban local body areas expand.

Areas and authorities covered

G.O. (Ms.) No. 80 applies to road works proposed by Tamil Nadu urban local bodies. The document describes the State's three tier urban administration as covering the Corporation of Chennai, 11 other municipal corporations, 124 municipalities and 528 town panchayats.

Construction and maintenance of roads are identified as important responsibilities of these urban local bodies. The approval is a programme level administrative sanction. It does not itself list particular roads, streets or local projects selected for work.

Funding approved

The Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MA.3) Department approved the following funding pattern:

• Rs.420 crore from the Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Programme.
• Rs.420 crore as urban local body contribution.
• Rs.160 crore as a loan.
• Total programme cost of Rs.1,000 crore.

The Director of Municipal Administration's proposal had referred to Rs.420 crore from Fourteenth Finance Commission grants. The final administrative sanction instead records Rs.420 crore as urban local body contribution.

How individual works are approved

G.O. (Ms.) No. 80 requires individual projects submitted by urban local bodies to be considered and approved by the Project Sanctioning Committee for the Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Programme.

Projects funded through the loan component must also follow the procedure laid down for sanctioning those funds. The order was issued with the concurrence of the Finance Department.

Relevance to property owners and buyers

G.O. (Ms.) No. 80 concerns public road restoration and laying in urban local bodies. A property owner or buyer may be affected where an adjoining or nearby road is selected through the project approval process, particularly following water supply or sewerage work. The document does not identify specific properties or roads, and it does not set out any property owner application, land acquisition, compensation or fee.