The Election Commission has directed the Chennai Corporation to suspend work on re-laying roads in Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly constituency, where by-election will be held on June 27.
The direction came from the District Election Office on Sunday in response to complaints made by candidates of the Opposition parties, sources said. The Opposition had alleged that road re-laying works were in violation of the model code of conduct and carried out by the State government with an eye on votes. However, Corporation officials rejected the allegation, but added that since they were directed by the EC, they had stopped the work.
Following the directive, the civic body stopped the work on important roads in not just the constituency but also in other areas of the city, including Tiruvottiyur High Road, Kumalamman Koil Street, Vydianathan Bridge, Suryanarayana Road and Kathivakkam High Road.
“Work on a few portions of the roads were completed. We have stopped the work midway,” a Chennai Corporation official told The Hindu .
The Opposition has been claiming that a number of civic projects in the constituency, including water supply improvement works, were taken up only after the by-election was notified. But, the State government maintained that no new projects were announced after the code of conduct came into force and only works that began prior to by-election schedule were being carried out.
The suspension of the work midway and frequent movement of heavy vehicles on incomplete stretches will affect the road pavement quality, officials said.
The road re-laying works, the officials said, are part of a larger project to give a makeover to 194 bus routes ahead of the Global Investors’ Meet scheduled for September.
