The Hindu 04.09.2013
State nod for broke civic body to borrow Rs.10 cr. to clear bills
Road repair and drain works in the city may go on
unhindered if the contractors of the Kochi Corporation accept part
payment of their long-pending bills from the civic body.
The
cash-strapped civic body has got permission from the State government
to raise a loan of Rs.10 crore from the Syndicate bank for clearing the
bills of its contractors. Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany shared the
information with the councillors of the corporation at the council
meeting held on Tuesday.
Incidentally, the
contractors had earlier threatened to stop all the works of the city
corporation if it failed to clear the arrears by the first week of
September.
Mr. Chammany also read out the government
order permitting the local body to raise the funds. The bank had offered
to give the loan on condition that the corporation repays it on time.
It also demanded a clearance letter from the State government as a
precondition. The corporation had earlier repaid two loans of Rs.5 crore
each offered by the bank.
The delay in convening a
special meeting of the council to discuss the financial crisis of the
civic body invited sharp criticism from a section of the ruling front
councillors as well as the LDF members.
Raising the
issue in the council, the Development Standing Committee chairman and
‘I’ faction councillor T.J. Vinod alleged that the Mayor was least
concerned about the financial crisis.
The Mayor failed to explain to the council why a meeting was not convened as promised earlier.
The
councillors had every right to know about the financial health of the
local body, he said. N.A. Shafeeq, a CPI(M) councillor, too raised the
issue of violation of rights of the councillors.
In
his reply, Mr. Chammany said a meeting would be held on September 23 to
discuss the issue. The meeting had to be postponed as details on the
financial position of the body had to be collected.
