Right to Information activist J. Daniel has unearthed
through the Right to Information Act that the civic body had spent Rs.
2.30 crore between May and August 2015 to remove water hyacinth in
Valangulam, Kurichi, Singanallur, Krishnampathy and Selvampathy tanks.

Why
should the civic body spend such a huge amount when it could completed
the very task by roping in non-government organisations and volunteers
who were into lake conservation. Alternatively, the Corporation could
have bought the heavy machinery, whose cost would not exceed Rs. 1
crore, and save the cost of hiring the machine.

The move to buy
the heavy machinery would have been a prudent move as the civic body was
the custodian of the lakes for another 90-odd years, as it had taken on
lease those from the Public Works Department.

Mr. Daniel also
said that the Corporation giving the tank cleaning contract to only two
agencies also raised a needle of suspicion. At a time when the civic
body’s finances were not healthy, it would do well to show fiscal
prudence, he added.

Officials in the Corporation maintained that
the move to clean the tanks was as per rules and payments were made as
per procedures.

There was no irregularity in those and if at all any was pointed out, the civic body would look into those.