CHENNAI: Thirty-three of the 200 elected councillors in the Greater Chennai Corporation did not raise a single ward issue in any of the monthly council meetings held at the Ripon Buildings between November 2022 and February 2026, according to an RTI reply. The 33, which is nearly one-sixth of the civic body’s strength, who never spoke include 29 DMK councillors, two Congress councillors, one AIADMK councillor and an independent.
The corporation’s council secretary told TNIE that councillors who submit a letter detailing their issues during the meeting are included in the list of those who have spoken and there is no rule requiring councillors to actually speak. “When a councillor wants to speak during question hour or zero hour, they submit a letter to us and we ensure their name is included. If they have not spoken, it means they have not sent any such letter,” the official said.
The data, which was obtained by advocate GM Shankar, a member of the state legal wing of the Aam Aadmi Party, also shows that around 35 councillors spoke only once: DMK councillor K Sharmila Gandhi (ward 34) who was heard only in 2024, AIADMK councillor P Sivaprakasam (ward 190) only in 2025, and Congress councillor B Rajan, now with TVK (ward 23), only in 2023.
In the two meetings held in November and December 2022, 133 councillors said nothing including 111 of the 153 DMK councillors, nine of 15 AIADMK councillors and six of 13 Congress councillors. The number of silent councillors fell to 69 in 2023, rose again to 81 in 2024 and marginally declined to 75 in 2025. In 2026, as of February, 139 councillors are yet to speak.
When asked, several silent councillors said ward issues were being resolved at zonal meetings, not requiring council intervention. Independent councillor S Gomathi (ward 2) and DMK councillor S Anandhi (ward 46), whose Vyasarpadi division covers areas with longstanding infrastructure needs, said their needs were taken care of at the zonal level. “But with the change in government, we may start speaking now,” Anandhi added.
Some even added that they are more comfortable speaking at the zonal meetings. “I spoke during the initial months, around July or August 2022, but I felt discouraged from speaking since I belong to the Dalit community. After that, however, many asked me to speak, but I was not able to. Instead, I raise my issues at the zonal meetings,” Congress councillor B Sumathi (ward 77) said.
Under Section 53(1) of the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act (1919) a councillor vacates office upon being absent from three consecutive meetings without approval. AIADMK councillor T Sathyanathan (ward 145) came close as he was absent in July, August and September, 2023, but was spared after he appeared for the September meet.
Across 40 council meetings, including budget presentations and debates, between November 2022 and February 2026, all 200 councillors were present together only 12 times. Absenteeism peaked in May 2025, when 38 councillors skipped the meeting. Even budget debates saw absences — 33 were absent on February 20, 2026, 17 on February 21, 2024 and 16 on March 28, 2023.