A meeting of the Kozhikode Corporation council turned noisy on Tuesday with the Opposition councillors alleging that the Corporation showed double standards with respect to construction activities in the city.
Councillor N.C. Moyinkutty invited the attention of the council to the illegal construction going on in the parking area of a mall in the city, and alleged that the Corporation was turning a blind eye to the indiscretions of corporate companies while punishing the poor for the slightest mistake. He expressed doubt how the contents of his submission to the Mayor got leaked.
Stop memo issued
Superintending Engineer of the Corporation K.D. Ajay Ghosh said that the Corporation had issued a stop memo to the mall authorities, which was followed by another notice when it was noted that they had not stopped the illegal construction. The Kerala State Electricity Board had been directed to disconnect the power supply to the mall and the file had been handed over to the Vigilance wing, he said. The Opposition councillors demanded that Mayor A.K. Premajam take immediate action as it was evident that the mall authorities had no intention to follow the instructions of the Corporation.
Apartment issue
Earlier, councillor K.T. Beerankoya raised the issue of the construction of an apartment complex at Pokkunnu which had invited protests by from the public. He demanded that the permission given to the construction company be repealed in view of the drinking water and waste management problems that the apartment would create. The council decided to convert it into a motion and send the details to the State government. An adjournment motion introduced by councillor P. Kishenchand and the ensuing discussion consumed half the time of the Corporation meeting.
Projects
Mr. Kishenchand alleged that the Corporation was not able to complete most of its projects, including spillover projects from previous years, as the Corporation could not get the District Planning Committee’s approval for them. The last date for receiving approval had been extended from May 31 to June 15. Due to the Corporation’s slow pace of action, the city was likely to lose many important projects such as the pipe-compost project and biogas plant project, he alleged.
The motion was unanimously approved by the council with a modification introduced by Public Works standing committee chairperson M. Mohanan.
