The Hindu 23.07.2009
Corporation Council adopts 46 resolutions
Staff Reporter
| English medium sections in 25 Corporation schools |
“There are 24,619 posts in the civic body, of which 5,366 were vacant”
CHENNAI: A total of 46 resolutions, including one according permission to start English medium sections in 25 primary schools of the Chennai Corporation, were adopted at the civic body’s council meeting on Wednesday.
Some of the other resolutions adopted included those sanctioning Rs. 9 lakh towards scholarships to be awarded to meritorious students of Corporation schools for pursuing higher education; purchase of gift bags worth Rs.29.10 lakh for mothers of newborns in Corporation hospitals; purchase of 15,000 disposable delivery kits at a cost of Rs.39.25 lakh; and approval of a tender for taking up improvement works at the Communicable Diseases Hospital in Tondiarpet at a cost of Rs.13 crore.
A resolution seeking to surrender 1,552 vacancies to the State government was, however, not adopted as the councillors wanted more time to debate on the issue. Mayor M. Subramanian explained that there were a total of 24,619 posts in the civic body of which 5,366 were vacant.
The civic body had a total of 19,253 employees and posts including those of carpenters, painters, blacksmiths, dhobis, duffedars and muchis were being surrendered so that it could get new posts, he added. The surrender was part of the administrative reforms process.
Councillors’ demand
Other issues raised at the meeting included a demand from councillors, cutting across partylines, during zero hour for at least half a ground land be allotted to them.
P. Jayanthi, ward 3 councillor, urged the Corporation to take steps to prevent the burning of garbage at Kodungaiyur. K. Janaki of ward 109 said that action must be taken against teachers indulging in unnecessary politics in schools. Devi alias Devaki of ward 59 said that several schools did not have teachers for physical training and art.
On a call attention motion by PMK’s M. Jayaraman regarding the Corporation granting building approval for construction on a disputed property in Koyambedu, Mr. Subramanian said that the civic body had ensured that as per a Supreme Court order status quo was maintained on the 1.77 acres of disputed land. While granting planning approval the Chennai Metropolitan Development Agency had directed the promoter to set aside 12 m of land for development of a road.
He also said the Corporation would seek the help of the police to restrict the movement of anti-social elements on the Marina.