Chennai Corporation council approves second phase of city footpath project

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) council approved the second phase of a project to construct footpaths at six identified locations — Sardar Patel Road, Gandhi Mandapam Road, Kamarajar Salai, New Avadi Road, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, and Paper Mills Road —following an announcement from the State government to develop 200 km of footpaths at an estimated cost of ₹200 crore.

The infrastructure works cleared include the redevelopment of Sir Pitti Thyagaraya Hall for ₹1.86 crore, the construction of a new council hall and office complex at the Ripon Building campus for ₹75.05 crore, and new school buildings at Portuguese Church Street (₹4.55 crore), Annai Sivakami Nagar 11th Street (₹3.93 crore), and Chellappa Street (₹4.58 crore).

The council also approved a ₹10-crore upgrade for JJ Indoor Stadium, the construction of a new sports facility at Aspiran Garden for ₹4.80 crore, and infrastructure works at the Pulianthope slaughterhouse for an additional ₹9.29 crore. Procurement of six high-capacity suction-cum-jetting machines was cleared at an estimated ₹12 crore, and boats will be purchased for recreational facilities at Madhavaram Lake, Manali Lake, and near the Tiruvottiyur railway bridge.

The council also approved the lease of TANSI land on Walltax Road for ₹6.7 lakh to establish a temporary bus terminal.

The council approved renaming Balakrishna Colony 3rd Street as T.V. Viswanathan Street and John Trevor Street as K. Veerasamy Street, while a new park in Ramapuram will be named after freedom fighter S.S. Viswananthadas. Statues of Tamil martyrs Thalamuthu and Natarajan will be installed at the Chennai Schools complex in Egmore, and an Ambedkar statue will be placed at the Victoria Hall premises.