VIJAYAWADA/VISAKHAPATNAM: The Municipal Administration Department on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Gannamani Venkateswara Rao as the chairman of Greater Visakhapatnam Smart City Corporation Limited (GVSCCL).
Venkateswara Rao sent his resignation letter on March 17, after the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) had objected to the appointments to Smart City Corporations. He cited “personal reasons” to quit the office of GVSCCL chief.
Accepting his resignation, Special Chief Secretary (municipal administration) Y Srilakshmi issued a government order, asking the CEO and managing director of GVSCCL to take necessary action.
As the posts of the four Corporations— Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Kakinada and Eluru—are filled by YSRC leaders, Duvvuri Subrahmanyam of Kakinada filed an RTI application seeking information on political appointments in Smart City Corporations. This prompted the Centre to direct the State government to take corrective steps as the appointments violated the Smart City Mission guidelines.
Responding to the petitioner, the MoHUA said as per the Smart City Mission (SCM) guidelines, the chiefs of the SPV should be a commissioner or collector or municipal commissioner or chief executive of the urban development authority, as decided by the State. Kakinada Smart City Corporation chief Allu Raju Babu, too, has tendered his resignation.
2 more chiefs may resign
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs told the State government that the appointment of persons other than those stipulated in the SCM guidelines violated the norms. While Kakinada Smart City Corporation chairperson Allu Raju Babu, too, tendered his resignation, the chiefs of Eluru and Tirupati Smart City Corporations B Akhila Priya and N Padmaja, respectively, are likely to follow suit