The proposal to install 150 cameras in the city to track the illegal dumping of waste has run into trouble with the Opposition raising allegations of favouritism in the allocation of the work.
When the proposal was considered at the last meeting of the Kochi Corporation council, some of the Opposition councillors as well as some from the ruling front opposed it, forcing the authorities to go in for a fresh Expression of Interest for the project.
The suggestion of the firm that was selected for implementing the project to allow it to display advertisements at select city areas had also invited the wrath of councillors.
V.K. Minimol, a Congress councillor, pointed out that it was inappropriate for the firm to dictate the terms and conditions of the project. The firm wanted the right to display LED boards at strategic city points in lieu of the cameras they would be installing in the city. Also, the firm wanted the right for displaying the advertisement for a period of 10 years. It would be inappropriate for the civic body, which had a term of just five years, to go in for an agreement that would go much beyond its term in office, said Ms. Minimol.
The Congress councillor also alleged that procedural formalities were violated while preparing the files for the project. If the civic body was keen on setting up cameras, it could implement the project using its own funds and its maintenance could be outsourced, she said.
Opposing the proposal, C.A. Shakkeer, CPI leader in the council, said the civic body would suffer huge revenue loss if the firm is allowed to display advertisements in the poles of Cochin Smart Mission Limited as suggested. Confusion prevailed regarding the number of poles in which the firm had sought the right to display advertisements. The company wanted the right to display advertisements in 600 poles though they would be setting up only 150 cameras, said Mr. Shakkeer.
T.K. Ashraf, chairman of the Health Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation, said the civic body has decided to invite A fresh Expression of Interest for the project. The opposition to the project was without any valid grounds. The city police were already going ahead with the proposal for setting up the cameras and permitting the agency to display advertisements, he said.
