THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city corporation council meeting held on Tuesday turned stormy over the illegal dumping of medical and other waste in Tamil Nadu. There were heated exchanges between the Opposition councillors and the ruling front after the waste management issue came up for discussion.
Acknowledging that the agency which dumped waste illegally in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu was the one authorised by the civic body, Mayor Arya Rajendran said that the civic body was unaware of the violations. The mayor said that Sun Age Solutions, the service provider engaged in the alleged illegal dumping, subcontracted the work to two private agencies without the knowledge of the corporation.
The waste collected was transported in vehicles without GPS and was dumped in various locations in the bordering districts of Tamil Nadu. Mayor assured that strict action will be taken against the violators.
BJP councillors expressed their protest at the council accusing the corporation of failure in waste management. LDF parliamentary party leader D R Anil challenged the council to point out places in the capital where waste is accumulated. The session turned stormy when councillor Karamana Ajith showed the pictures of piled up waste in Killiyar River.
Mayor Arya Rajendran alleged that the Railways is responsible for dumping waste and the remark by the mayor alleging that Karamana Ajith was anti-women led to heated exchanges.
The council approved financial assistance of Rs 75,000 each for 22 inter-caste couples from Scheduled Caste category. In addition to this, a marriage assistance of Rs 1.25 lakh each for 24 financially backward women beneficiaries was also approved. The council also approved various social security pensions for 325 beneficiaries.