COIMBATORE: Tensions flared during the urgent council meeting of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) on Friday, as councillors from the ruling DMK and the opposition AIADMK engaged in a heated exchange over the tabling of project resolutions whose tenders had allegedly been allocated months ago.
The confrontation began soon after the meeting commenced when AIADMK floor leader R Prabhakaran (Ward 47) questioned the need for holding two urgent council meetings within a span of eight days. He criticised the civic administration for allegedly providing council subjects at the last minute and accused the mayor of rushing through resolutions without adequate discussion.
Prabhakaran also raised objections to the decision to outsource the maintenance of Semmozhi Park to private contractors, claiming the civic body was spending more than Rs 6.7 crore annually for the work. He alleged that the move was unnecessary and demanded that the corporation instead employ its own workforce for the maintenance of parks across the city.
Responding to the criticism, Mayor K Ranganayaki defended the urgency of the meeting, stating that several projects had recently received C-Sanction from the government and that approvals were needed to begin development works at the earliest. However, as Prabhakaran continued to criticise the DMK government and the mayor, a heated verbal exchange broke out between him and a few DMK councillors.
Amid the escalating argument, Prabhakaran and fellow AIADMK councillor Ramesh staged a walkout from the council meeting while raising slogans against the mayor and the DMK government.
Later, addressing the reporters, Prabhakaran alleged that the mayor was pushing through long-pending files without transparency. He pointed out that the corporation had convened another urgent meeting just a week earlier, during which more than 140 resolutions were passed, while Friday's meeting saw over 65 subjects cleared.
According to him, many of the resolutions approved were related to tenders sanctioned three to four months ago. He claimed that the delay in approving these files raised questions about possible irregularities and alleged that the files were intentionally held back before being cleared.
"The contract for park maintenance work has been extended to the same contractor despite the fact that none of the parks in the city is maintained well. The contract to maintain the Semmozhi Park at a cost of about Rs 55 lakh, which amounts to around Rs 6.5 crore per year, is horrid. It's the people's hard-earned tax money that they are spending. Why can't they appoint CCMC's permanent sanitary workers for that work? This is completely atrocious. The AIADMK will bring out the scam involved in this."
He further challenged the mayor to a public debate on development works undertaken in the city during the DMK's tenure, alleging that several projects initiated during the AIADMK regime, including the additional ramps at Gandhipuram Flyover, Sathy Road and Vadavalli-Marudhamalai Road widening, and the integrated bus terminus at Vellalore, had been stalled by the current government.
Prabhakaran asserted that the opposition would expose the alleged irregularities and expressed confidence that voters would respond in the upcoming Assembly election.