The opposition councillors locked horns with Mayor Tony Chammany yet again over the issue of corruption and staged a walkout from the council meeting on Tuesday.
Partial demolition of Snehabhavan, the corporation’s rehabilitation centre at Palluruthy for destitute children, the opposition alleged, was done in haste to protect the interests of a private builder whose construction of a multi-storied flat complex in the vicinity led to the weakening of the centre’s building. It led to heated debate in the council meeting.
A combative Mayor dismissed the meeting after announcing the council’s decision to free all ‘puramboke’ land within the corporation limits of illegal structures. Raising the issue, councillor V.A. Srijith alleged that the centre had developed cracks during the piling for the flat and that it was pulled down to destroy evidence.
He said Education Standing Committee chairman R. Thyagarajan had written a letter to the Palluruthy Assistant Executive Engineer for the demolition of the structure keeping even the Town Planning Standing Committee chairman K.J. Sohan in the dark.
Mr. Srijith alleged that the flat had come up by encroaching on ‘puramboke’ land and in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms despite the civic body issuing a stop memo.
Mr. Chammany’s reply that the builder concerned would be asked to reconstruct the pulled down portion and that the file would be studied to find out any irregularities by the builder brought the opposition councillors to their feet. They refused to be placated despite the Mayor’s assurance that no leniency would be shown to the builder. Opposition councillors, including Anilkumar, Srijith, and Shafeek, said that there was nothing to be studied since the Corporation Secretary himself had written to the State government on the many irregularities committed by the builder as recently as this March.
