The Kozhikode Corporation Council on Tuesday declared 30 recipients of widow pension in the city unqualified for the payment. An inquiry conducted based on the orders of the Panchayat Director found that the 30 either had vehicles of more than 1000 cc capacity or houses of 1,200 sq. ft or more. Indian Union Muslim League councillor K.T. Beeran Koya has demanded that another inquiry should be conducted, as most of those who had been declared unqualified were in fact qualified.
The Corporation will introduce a mobile sewage treatment plant to solve the sewage issue in the city as the proposed STPs in different parts of the city are yet to materialise.
Answering a question posed by CPI(M) councillor C.K. Zeenath about the emptying of waste, including sewage, into B.K. Canal in the city, Corporation Health Officer R.S. Gopakumar said the mobile STP introduced in schools used as relief camps during the floods was a grand success. The STP was set up at a cost of around ₹10 lakh. The Corporation had set aside ₹25 lakh to set up an advanced mobile STP, he said.
Hike in rent
CPI(M) councillor K.K. Rafeeque held the media responsible for the recent protests from various quarters against the hike in the rent of halls and public open spaces under the Corporation. Education standing committee chairman M. Radhakrishnan Master said the protests were triggered by the wrong rent tariff published in a section of the media. The Council has decided against relaxing the rent even for advance bookings. The revised tariff will come into effect from January 1 onwards. So far, the Corporation has received 19 requests to waive the hike or to reimburse the payment made. The finance standing committee has suggested that the bookings made by those who cannot afford the rent as per the revised tariff shall be cancelled and the full amount reimbursed.
BJP councillor Prashanth Kumar brought up the issue of faulty software used for granting building permits. Mayor Thottathil Raveendran said the ‘Suvega software’ was not yet fully functional due to some technical issues and that it would be corrected within a week.
