The scare of coronavirus across the world has kept several meetings and gatherings at bay, while several more have gone online. The GHMC is, however, yet to decide on its standing committee and council meetings, which are already due by several weeks.
While all other regions in the State are declared COVID-19-free, GHMC continues to be in the red zone, indicating rampant spread of the virus. The number of cases show no sign of let-up, even as the lockdown days are numbered.
With the standing committee and general body meetings on the hold for over two months, several key proposals pertaining to various developmental works in city are kept on hold, say officials. They also include land acquisition proposals for recently approved link roads and slip roads, apart from the SRDP components.
As per the custom, GHMC council meets once three months, and the standing committee once a week, though the custom is practised more in breach.
The last standing committee meeting before COVID-19 lockdown was held on March 12, and the council meeting on February 8.
The norm of physical distancing has delayed both meetings by several weeks, as there is apparently no provision for enough spacing in GHMC headquarters.
“Standing committee meeting is attended by 15 members and 40 to 50 officials at the minimum. Council meetings see at least 200 persons gathering in closed chambers.
Both pose risk of infection, hence no meetings are being conducted during lockdown period,” an official said.
Though there is tele/video-conferencing facility, the official says, there is no provision in the GHMC Act for the same. This is standing in the way of approval for crucial works.
As per the rule book, proposals up to ₹2 crore may be sanctioned by the Commissioner himself, while above this limit, all proposals will have to be sent for approval of the standing committee.
An official, on condition of anonymity, said that even proposals above this limit were being sanctioned by the Commissioner on emergency basis, pending approval by the standing committee.
Mayor Bonthu Ram Mohan admits that several developmental works have hit the roadblock ahead of GHMC elections, due to COVID-19 lockdown.
The present standing committee’s tenure is about to end in the first week of June, before which efforts are on to convene a meeting, he said. Proposal to hold the meeting online too is under consideration.
