Former MLA levels charges against civic commissioner

Addressing a press conference at Robertsonpet on Wednesday, Bhaktavatsalam alleged the Rs 13-crore projects were affected due to irregular tax payment in the BGML residential area.

“After the gold mining fields were closed down, the entire region has been denied of basic amenities,” he said.

In view of this, a proposal to undertake development projects worth Rs 13 crore, to be funded by KMRP, was sent to the CMC.

However, the CMC has now shifted the projects to non-mining areas, saying residents of the said area were not paying their housing taxes, he said.

Bhaktavatsalam added that residents in the area, which mainly houses mine workers who are presently unemployed and those from backward communities, are angered by the attitude of the CMC Commissioner.

Accusations

Equipped with a list of accusations against CMC Commissioner R S Yarrappa, Bhaktavatsalam accused the CMC chief of not convening the Budget session which was supposed to be held in March; not spending the Rs 1.12 crore meant for the development of scheduled castes; not disbursing Rs three crore grants from the CM’s funds for ward development and distributing it to only select wards; not awarding the Rs 35-lakh contract for solid waste management; and not constructing a water tank at Swarnanagar, to be built at the cost of Rs 40 lakh.

After lambasting the CMC chief with his accusations, Bhaktavatsalam turned his ire towards the legislator for turning a blind eye towards these irregularities.

“All political parties, including the ruling BJP, have protested against the CMC Commissioner, yet the Government has failed to act,” he said and added that an all-party protest will soon be organised.

CMC member Dayanand, JD(D) leaders Gopal, Rasheed Khan, Gopal and Parandham were present at the press conference.