Kochi: In
a temporary respite to the city corporation, which has plunged into a
deep financial crisis, the state government has given permission to take
a Rs 10 cr loan to pay arrears to contractors. With more than Rs 25 cr
due to them, the contractors had threatened to stop all works.

During
the council meeting on Tuesday, mayor Tony Chammany informed the
members about the government nod and read out the government order. The
Syndicate Bank will provide the loan on an assurance from the
corporation that it will repay the loan amount. The bank had also asked
for a clearance from the state government to release the funds.

Now,
the road, drain, public building and other civil works may not be
affected as, a part of the dues of the contractors can be settled using
the loan. Meanwhile, the mayor faced stiff opposition from both
the opposition councillors and a section of the ruling Congress ‘I’
members who alleged that Chammany had failed to take effective measures
to resolve the financial crisis.

Initiating
the discussion, development committee chairman T.J. Vinod, an ‘I’ group
member, said that the mayor was not serious about the unprecedented
financial crisis of the civic body. “The mayor should give a
satisfactory explanation to councillors why he has failed to convene the
special council meeting, scheduled for September 4, to discuss the
financial situation. The councillors have the constitutional right to
know details of the financial position of the corporation,” he said.

Supporting
his arguments, Adv N.A. Shafeeq, CPM councillor said that it was a
constitutional violation on the part of the mayor. Replying to the
debate, Chammany explained that the meeting had to be postponed as the
deputy mayor, who is the finance committee chairperson, had asked for
more time to collect the details of revenue income, expenditure and the
current financial situation. During the council meeting, it was decided
that the special meeting would be convened on September 23.

Other
issues debated in the council was the perennial water scarcity in west
Kochi areas, lapses in implementing JNNURM, KSUDP projects, misuse of
corporation vehicles and floor area relaxation for building
constructions.