The Hindu 02.03.2011
City Corporation Council approves annual budget
UDF stages walkout over source of funds for Attukal township scheme
The City Corporation Council on Tuesday adopted the annual budget for
the year 2011-’12 even as the Opposition UDF staged a walkout towards
the end of the two-day discussion on the proposals.
Earlier during the discussions, councillors demanded a
slab system to fix the licence fee for tuition centres on the basis of
the student strength and income. Chairman of the welfare standing
committee Palayam Rajan said it was unfair to levy the same fee from
tuition centres with three or four students and those with hundreds of
students on their rolls.
Kuravankonam ward member P. Syamkumar highlighted the
delay in clearing online applications for building permit. Pointing out
that touts had a free run in the town planning section, Mr. Rajan
alleged a bid to sabotage the online system. He said a section of
officials were hand in glove with middlemen. Several councillors
complained that applications at zonal offices were often held up on the
grounds of missing files.
Nettayam ward member M.R. Rajeev (BJP) said the
conditions dictated by the Chennai-based company that was awarded the
online system for issue of building permits were responsible for the
mess. He called for a review of the agreement with the company.
Chairman of the works standing committee V.S. Padmakumar
said efforts were on to make the online system transparent and ensure
time-bound issue of permits. He proposed a three-pronged strategy
focussing on elimination of touts, revising the city master plan and
using satellite technology for mapping the city. Rounding off the debate
on the issue, Mayor K. Chandrika said the e-governance system to be
implemented in the Corporation would eliminate the problems associated
with the online system for issue of building permits.
Ms. Chandrika told the council that the Revenue
Department had agreed to release five acres of land at two locations for
the Corporation to take up the construction of houses under the EMS
mass housing scheme.
The meeting saw a concerted demand for stern action
against road work contractors who failed to carry out the works awarded
to them. BJP council party leader Ashok Kumar said councillors were
finding it difficult to face the electorate in places where road works
were getting inordinately delayed. UDF leader K. Maheswaran Nair called
for blacklisting erring contractors. The Mayor directed councillors to
submit complaints about contractors who failed to deliver in time.
An allegation by the UDF benches that the Kudumbasree
Mission was heavily politicised led to a heated argument with the ruling
front. The issue was triggered by Cheruvakkal ward councillor V.R. Sini
who alleged that chairpersons of Kudumbasree Area Development Societies
were riding roughshod over councillors in several places.
Mr. Maheswaran Nair said the Kudumbasree movement had
come to be viewed as a political instrument of the CPI(M). The Mayor
replied that the Kudumbasree set up was based on bylaws and
office-bearers elected to positions. Members of the UDF staged a walkout
over the Deputy Mayor’s failure to clarify the source of funds for the
Attukal township scheme.