The City Corporation, on Monday, adopted a resolution against accepting the ownership of the mobile incinerator from the State government. The machine, worth Rs.2.5 crore, was brought to the city in November. P. Ashok Kumar of the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP), who moved an adjournment motion, said the machine was largely ineffectual and incurred massive costs.
The resolution stated that by handing over the machine to the Corporation, the government was attempting to absolve itself of the responsibility of handling a mechanism that used too much fuel for the little quantity waste it processed.
The resolution was adopted towards the end of the Council meeting as much of the discussion revolved around the People’s Plan and the guidelines regarding the choosing of beneficiaries for each scheme.
Councillors should convene ward committee meetings to draw up the list of beneficiaries by January 21, Mayor K. Chandrika said.
The councillors of the United Democratic Front (UDF) said the civic body had failed to carry out development works promised on various occasions.
The Mayor said 619 engineering projects were on the anvil and some had reached the tendering stage. Over 550 spill-over plans would be taken up soon, she added. Maheshwaran Nair (UDF) said more discussions were necessary as most councillors were unaware of many programmes.
The Corporation should be more realistic in making promises as the civic body had failed to implement many schemes for want of resources, he said. Some councillors cited the EMS Housing Scheme as a case in point. Vizhinjam councillor Gladys Alex said certain wards, such as hers, had received no benefits.
In response, works standing committee chairperson V.S. Padmakumar said the Corporation had carried out all that was required of it in time, from the development seminar to meetings of the 18 working groups. An additional list would be prepared regarding the Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme focussing on the coastal areas, he added.
Deputy Mayor G. Happykumar said the Corporation was constrained by the subsidy norms of the State government.
