Chennai, Mar 16:
Chief Minister Stalin announced that Pudukkottai, Tiruvannamalai, Namakkal, and Karaikudi municipalities will be upgraded into corporations by merging village panchayats and other local bodies with them. With these four, the total number of municipal corporations in Tamil Nadu would increase to 25.
An official release said the creation of new corporations would help boost infrastructure facilities in the region and foster economic growth. The release also said Tamil Nadu is one of the most urbanised states in the country and as per 2011 census, the urban population stood at 48.45%. It is now estimated that the urban population in the state has increased to 53%. This rapid urbanisation has created challenges in providing basic infrastructure facilities and services to the people, the release said.
To address the infrastructure gap, the government has been extending the boundaries of existing municipal corporations by merging nearby localities with them and creating new municipal corporations. This is being done to provide quality roads on a par with cities, protected drinking water, underground sewage system, and streetlights to these localities.
In the past three years, the state government has created 28 new municipalities and six new corporations. The government has been allocating funds under various schemes to these upgraded local bodies.
