The mayor, Ms Kartika Reddy, of the Congress and the deputy mayor, Mr Jaffar Hussain, of the MIM targeted the GHMC commissioner, Mr Sameer Sharma, alleging that neither he nor any other officials were consulting the elected body on policy matters. The officials, however, stood their ground and said that they simply went by the rules.

The deputy mayor started the discussion stating that he had written twice to the commissioner regarding a large number of complaints that he had received about poor street lighting and other civic issues. “There was no response from the commissioner to the letters written by me. What are you thinking about us (corporators)? If you do not want to consult the elected body, write a letter to the government that you want to take decisions on your own,” Mr Jaffar Hussain said.

Even the mayor chipped in and said that there had been no response from the GHMC commissioner to the numerous representations forwarded by her on various civic issues. “I forward the complaints I receive to the commissioner but I have not got any replies to most of the cases. If this is the response the mayor and deputy mayor get, one can imagine the fate of the common man,” she said.

Earlier, the corporators complained that 40 per cent of streetlights in the city do not glow. One of the corporators, Mr Wajahat Ali Khan, alleged that most of the corporators in the GHMC were corrupt.

The GHMC chief shot back at the allegations and said he gets letters from MPs, MLAs and MLCs apart from citizens and said that he forwarded them to the respective additional commissioners.

Ms Reddy wondered whether Mr Sharma wanted to run the civic administration as a special officer. It may be mentioned that the GHMC commissioner assumes the role of special officer in the absence of an elected body. The special officer’s post is vested with powers enjoyed by the elected body of corporators.

Not to be bogged down, the GHMC chief shot back stating that he receives letters from not only the mayor and deputy mayor but also from MPs, MLCs and MLAs besides citizens. “Every day I receive over 40 letters. I mark them to respective additional commissioners and other officials based on the subject. If the reply has to be given by me, I will definitely do it. But if it is the additional commissioners’ subject, then they should co-ordinate with the elected body, and this they must do,” he said.