Councillors raise poor street light upkeep, school repairs at budget discussion

Madurai: Lack of funds for streetlight maintenance, insufficient allocation for school repairs, and continued neglect of crematoriums took centrestage at the Madurai corporation budget discussion on Thursday. Councillors across zones flagged major gaps in the 2025–26 civic budget presented a month ago, at the meeting chaired by mayor Indrani Ponvasanth.

Zonal chairpersons of north, west and south zones raised the issue of poorly lit streets, highlighting that no new LED lights were sanctioned since 2023, when 10,000 lights were installed. "Moreover, repair and maintenance of existing lights have become a major concern," said Saravana Bhuvaneshwari, Madurai north zonal chairperson. "Many corporation schools also lack adequate lighting, and our repeated proposals have gone unanswered," added V Suveetha, chairperson of Madurai west zone.

Councillors said the focus on painting corporation schools has come at the cost of addressing pressing maintenance issues. "Several secondary schools need structural repairs. This year, there is very little allocation for that," Bhuvaneshwari said. Corporation commissioner Chitra Vijayan said engineers from all zones have been instructed to review the condition of all corporation schools in coordination with councillors. "We will compile a proposal and forward it to the departments of municipal administration and education for further action," she said.

Opposition leader M Solai Raja said the city rainwater drainage system needs a permanent solution. "Given the increasing threat of extreme weather events, a substantial amount should be set apart for city-wide drainage revamp," he said. Mayor Indrani said a draft proposal for overhaul of stormwater drains is in progress, and certain priority areas will soon be taken up for desilting and repair.

Councillors said the budget failed to allocate funds for procuring new garbage collection vehicles. "Several battery-powered vehicles in zone 5 are currently under repair, leading to delays in collection," Suveetha said. S Vasuki of east zone said only three robotic machines are there to clean underground drainage system for all five zones.

Lack of funding for crematoriums also drew criticism. Mugesh Sharma, south zone chairperson, said service fee at Keerathurai crematorium still remains at ₹3,500. "The maintenance at Thathaneri crematorium is also poor. At the very least, funds should be earmarked from the general fund with the corporation," he said. Central zone chairperson Pandi Selvi demanded increase in ward development fund from ₹25 lakh to ₹40 lakh annually as in Chennai and Trichy.