The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is set to resume full-scale operations, and plans to hold its first formal review meeting in 70 days, this week. Many civic activities remained stagnant since mid-March as Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was in place and the deployment of personnel for election duties.

“Projects for which we have issued tenders, but are yet to commence, including road relaying and pavement-laying works, will be reviewed, and work will begin as soon as possible,” a senior GCC official told The Hindu.

While approximately 70% of scheduled road projects were completed before the election hiatus, the remaining 30% — along with various pending footpath works — will now be prioritised for completion before the onset of monsoon.

Crackdown on violations

The Corporation also plans to crack down on civic violations that proliferated during the election period. Fines will soon be imposed on defaulters, specifically targeting those violating Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste regulations, illegal banners and flags, and those caught open dumping.

Officials noted a recent surge in illegal political banners and AI-generated imagery featuring State emblems, particularly in areas such as Teynampet and Anna Nagar.

“We will follow the usual procedure of removing banners within a day or two of the event,” the official added, noting that stricter enforcement was previously paused to avoid local-level friction during polling.

New contracts

Contractors awaiting payments for completed works can expect settlements as the government stabilises, the official added. While the GCC faces a temporary financial “pinch” due to an exceptional volume of capital projects taken up in the last financial year, officials expect the revenue position to stabilize within the next six months as government grants and advance tax collections arrive, he stated.

Fresh tenders for essential infrastructure are also expected to be issued shortly to ensure a “saturation mode” for urban utility services. On May 11, 41 new tenders were published on the Tamil Nadu Tenders Portal.

This follows a pattern of high-volume procurement. In February alone, the GCC published over 1,200 tenders, including 121 floated during the State Budget presentation on February 17 — a significant increase from the 39 opened during the 2024 budget. However, the speed of these processes has drawn scrutiny regarding transparency.