Councillors seek end to Ourland contract at Madurai council meeting

Madurai: Councillors of the Madurai Corporation on Tuesday demanded that the contract awarded to private garbage collection firm Ourland be terminated, citing poor performance and repeated violations, during the 46th corporation council meeting held after a gap of three months.

Councillors expressed dissatisfaction with the company’s functioning and questioned why the corporation continued to extend the contract despite repeated penalties. Ward 64 councillor Solai Raja alleged that the contractor was a major reason for Madurai’s poor ranking in the Swachh Survekshan survey last year. Members also demanded that the corporation release a white paper detailing the firm’s contract terms, pending issues and tax payments.

Deputy mayor T Nagarajan said the firm’s contract would expire in about three months, after which the corporation would discontinue its services.

The council also discussed the proposed demolition of the Rani Mangammal Chattiram. Several councillors urged the corporation to halt any demolition plans and hand over the structure to the archaeology department for preservation as a heritage monument honouring Rani Mangammal and the Nayakkar legacy.

Responding to the demand, Nagarajan said no order had been issued to demolish the chattiram. “Only the Karupatti Chattiram adjacent to it is being demolished as it was in a dilapidated condition and posed a safety hazard,” he said.

Councillors also backed a proposal to relocate the Madurai Central Prison to Melur and convert the vacated site into a mega park or semmozhi poonga. To ease congestion at Mattuthavani, the corporation approved the creation of an alternative route, including a bridge across Sathiyar Odai near the fish market and improvement of rear roads.

The city’s drinking water and underground drainage infrastructure also came under scrutiny. Councillors sought details on the implementation of the underground drainage scheme in newly added areas, including pumping stations, advance connection deposits and pending contractor payments. Solai Raja also called for comprehensive desilting of water channels across the city.

The meeting, chaired by deputy mayor T Nagarajan, was attended by Madurai East MLA P Moorthy, Madurai North MLA G Thalapathi, Madurai South MLA M Boominathan and Madurai West MLA T Sellur Raju. It lasted for more than two hours.

Earlier in the day, members of the Madurai Corporation Workers’ Union (CITU) staged a protest demanding immediate termination of Ourland’s contract. Protesters alleged that the firm inflated garbage weights by mixing stones and soil with collected waste and also raised concerns over salary-related issues and waste management practices.