The Hindu 04.09.2010
Objection to show cause notice served on councillor
Special Correspondent
COIMBATORE: An urgent meeting of the Coimbatore Corporation Council on Friday saw Opposition parties protesting against the show cause notice served on Chairman of Coimbatore Corporation Council's Standing Committee on Education, Parks and Playgrounds R. Kalyanasundaram (CPI). The councillor was charged with violating rules governing the inspection of facilities coming under the purview of his committee.
Councillors of the CPI, Communist Party of India (Marxist), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Desiya Murpokku Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Bharatiya Janata Party and an Independent raised slogans against Mayor R. Venkatachalam and Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra when they were not allowed to raise the issue.
The Congress, DMK and those parties and Independents supporting them approved three of the four proposals listed in the agenda. One proposal was deferred for discussion.
The notice served on Mr. Kalyanasundarm by the Corporation Commissioner said that the councillor bypassed rules as a representative of the Corporation administration in inspecting facilities coming under the purview of the committee chaired by him and released reports to the media regarding the conditions prevailing there.
The issue of the inspection cropped up at the ordinary meeting of the Council on August 26. The Commissioner told Mr. Kalyanasundaram that he had to inform him of any inspection. While Mr. Kalyanasundaram had the right as an elected representative to inspect any facility or work in his Ward, he could not apply the same right to his post as the Chairman of the committee.
After the meeting on Friday, Mr. Kalyanasundaram contended that the committee had the right to inspect on its own. “We have submitted reports to the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Commissioner the very next day,” he said.
Countering this, the Mayor said: “These reports were submitted to us only after Mr. Kalayasundaram gave the details to the media. Rules mandate that the reports must be given to us first. Problems pointed out in the report should be discussed in the Corporation. “By going to the media first, it was made to appear as though the Corporation was taking remedial measures only on the basis of what appeared in newspapers. The fact is that we had taken action only on the basis of the report submitted by the Committee,” the Mayor explained. Chairman of North Zone C. Padmanabhan (CPI-M) said the actions of Mr. Kalayanasundaram did not warrant a show cause notice. “We strongly condemn serving of the notice on him. It shows the way elected representatives are being sidelined,” he said.
P. Rajkumar (AIADMK) said: “We wanted to discuss the serving of show cause notice on a councillor and the way parks were opened over the last two days as if it were a DMK affair. Discussions on these could have been allowed.”
