Coimbatore Revives Long-Stalled Scheme Roads, Seeks ₹19 Cr for First Phase

Decades of delays have finally ended for the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation, which has initiated an attempt to resuscitate and expedite long-gestating scheme road projects that were initially conceived to enhance connectivity between important arterial roads such as Avinashi Road, Sathyamangalam Road, Mettupalayam Road, and Trichy Road.

These scheme roads, quite several of which were conceived as far back as 1994, were aimed at decongesting traffic and pushing development in up-and-coming areas. However, most have remained on paper. A major push came in 2021 when the corporation proposed seven new link roads at an estimated cost of ₹144 crore but none were approved by the state government.

Now, the corporation has sent a fresh request for funds, seeking ₹19 crore to begin work on three roads in the first phase:

• ₹12 crore for a 30-foot-wide road from Aishwarya Nagar to Marudhamalai Road
• ₹4 crore for a road connecting Thudiyalur Main Road to Anna Nagar via Meenakshi Nagar
• ₹3 crore for the Thenvadal Project Road

The corporation is awaiting approvals and funding from the state government and the Local Planning Authority.

City-based activist S.P. Thiyagarajan said nearly 300 scheme roads have been planned since 1994. “If executed back then, land acquisition would have been cheaper and easier. The delay has only made the process more expensive,” he noted.

Residents have echoed the urgency. A Vilankurichi resident highlighted the long-pending 80-foot Codissia-Vilankurichi Road project, first announced in 2010. Though a legal stay order by a private school was lifted by the Madras High Court in 2018, there has been no visible progress. “This road could dramatically ease access to Avinashi Road and attract businesses to the area,” the resident said.

Corporation Commissioner M. Sivaguru Prabhakaran added that the second master plan had excluded several scheme roads. “We’ve requested the state to include them again and to allocate the necessary funds. Work will begin as soon as funds are sanctioned,” he confirmed.