Councillors belonging to All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) walked out during the Corporation council meeting held here on Thursday in protest against the steep rise in property tax announced by the State government.
The meeting was convened by Mayor Indrani Ponvasanth with 90 ward councillors in attendance. It was presided over by Corporation Commissioner Simranjeet Singh Kahlon, his maiden council meeting after assuming office, and Deputy Mayor T. Natarajan. Six resolutions were passed at the meeting.
Madurai South MLA M. Boominathan raised the issue of improper sewage disposal because of malfunctioning of motor at the pumping station and other issues and slow progress of Underground Drainage System (UGD) work at many places in his constituency. “There is no denying that the ward is thickly populated with houses standing cheek by jowl. So it is all the more important that pumping stations had spare motors in case of motor breakdown so that sewage disposal is carrried out without a break,” he said. The Mayor said efforts would be made to expedite the UGD work.
Common issues
The common issue raised at the meeting was frequent malfunctioning of streetlights. S. Vasuki, East Zonal Chairperson, said that the streetlights malfunctioned again after just two days after taking up repair works. She also urged the authorities to speed up the UGD work before the onset of monsoon as the rains would worsen the already bad condition of roads.
“The contractors do not provide proper records of the number of workers engaged or the list of works completed under the contract to councillors. This needs to be addressed first,” said A. Saravana Bhuvaneswari, North Zone Chairperson.
M. Mugesh Sharma, South Zone Chairperson, complained about the problem of manpower shortage in taking up drainage repair works. He also called for the Mayor’s intervention in strengthening the working relationship between councillors and Assistant Engineers.
The common issues highlighted by councillors during the question hour were the need for suction lorries, earthmovers specially allotted for wards and spare motors to be stationed at pumping stations.
In between the question hour, AIADMK councillors staged a walkout protesting against the property tax increase.
M. Jeyaram, councillor of ward 58, brought the issue of how conservancy workers on records were credited ₹21,000 as salary but they only received around ₹8,000 in hand. He called for proper auditing of the number of contract workers. He also highlighted the rent and tax arrears running upto ₹40 lakh by the Karimedu police station which is functioning in a former marriage hall built in the 1980s. He called for renovation of marriage halls belonging to the Corporation across the city to ensure a steady flow of revenue for the civic body.
The Mayor instructed the Assistant Commissioners to make field inspections and rectify issues highlighted at the meeting.
