The general body of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) took a strong objection to officials initiating works without the approval of the standing committee or the general body.
Taking the views of corporators seriously, mayor M Majid Hussain said the GHMC decided to examine the need for having consultancy services for its projects and spending huge amounts on them though the GHMC had qualified engineers among its staff.
He asked the zonal commissioners, additional commissioners and engineer-in-chief to submit a detailed report on utilisation of consultancy agencies, the expenditure incurred on projects at the next meeting of the standing committee.
When MIM corporator Zulfiqar wanted to know under what rules was the GHMC awarding consultancy service contracts to private agencies though GHMC engineers can do such jobs, engineer-in-chief R Dhan Singh failed to give a convincing reply.
Commissioner Somesh Kumar intervened to say that the GHMC would frame a policy in this regard and submit a detailed a report to the standing committee. Agreeing with the concerns of the members, he said GHMC engineers were not experts in taking up specialised works like construction of flyovers, road over-bridges and under-bridges.
“Our engineers are busy with routine works and we don’t have much time to deal with specialised works which are technical. All these issues will be studied in detail and a reported submitted to the Committee,” he said.
Syed Amin Jaffri, MLC, alleged a big scam in the award of consultancy services to private agencies. He wanted the GHMC to utilise the services of retired engineers who were experts in the project works as being done by AP Transco and other departments.
The council asked the commissioner to review the bad condition of roads and allot work to contractors in consultation with the corporators and public representatives concerned. It also resolved to allot `50 lakh for each ward for road repairs.
The council also asked commissioner to conduct a detailed area-wise survey of the requirement of sanitation units and refurbish the mas per the requirements.
The general body asked the commissioner to take action against illegal manufacturers of oil and illegal plastic manufacturers, and to strictly enforce the ban on plastic of below 40 microns thickness.