The City Corporation, which had given three marriage halls to individuals on lease, has decided to take them back and maintain them on its own in a bid to augment its revenue.
A decision to this effect was taken at the Corporation Council Meeting held on Thursday amidst noisy arguments between the councillors of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Even as Mayor E. Bhuvaneshwari was reading out a resolution thanking Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for having allotted 108 houses for Tirunelveli Corporation under ‘Housing for All’ Scheme, independent councillor Subramanian shouted that the Mayor had taken a hefty sum as bribe from the contractors for extending the contract awarded to them for maintaining the three marriage halls at Palayamkottai, Melapalayam and Maharaja Nagar.
When Ms. Bhuvaneshwari denied the charges, Congress and DMK councillors submitted a petition, urging her to conduct public auction for giving the marriage halls on lease. However, the Mayor, supported by AIADMK councillors, announced that the Corporation would maintain the halls on its own.
The meeting decided to allot a space at Madurai Highway – North Bypass Road Junction for installing the statue of former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran.
The Mayor announced that the State had allotted Rs. 46 crore for laying roads within the Corporation limits. “All the roads to be laid… should be of superior quality and should have a minimum thickness of 50 mm. It will be ensured at any cost,” she said. When Commissioner S. Sivasubramanian denied AIADMK councillor T.S. Murugan’s allegation that the Corporation officials were demanding bribe for extending every service to the public, it led to heated argument between them for a while. When DMK member Kittu alias Ramakrishnan sat on the floor in front of the Mayor to condemn the Corporation’s failure to control mosquito menace, Ms. Bhuvaneshwari said the Corporation was taking every possible measure to control mosquitoes. “Instead of approving it, the DMK member is enacting a drama here,” she said.
Councillor Kurichi Sekar’s appeal for deploying additional number of conservancy workers in Melapalayam area for ensuring better sanitation was accepted by the Commissioner.
