KARUR: The city corporation council on Tuesday unanimously refused to approve a resolution tabled by Mayor Kavitha Ganesan to clear Rs 46 lakh expenses incurred to douse a blaze that broke out in a garbage dump in July, alleging irregularities.
Objecting to the resolution, councillor M Thandapani of CPI (ward 41) said “The cost of a tanker-load of water is mentioned as Rs 2,700. Even if 200 tankers were used, the expenditure would have been only Rs 5.4 lakh. How did the expenditure come to Rs 46 lakh?
The resolution should be passed only after placing the proper accounts before all the council,” he said. Following his opposition, Mayor Kavitha announced that the resolution would be deferred. Later, Kavitha said it took 10 days to put out the massive fire and the efforts warranted such an expenditure.
Speaking to TNIE, she said “The fire broke out on July 15 midnight, requiring 15 teams from the Fire and Rescue Services departments in Karur, Tiruchy and Salem. Apart from 10 water tankers from local players, we mobilised seven earth movers.
Earthmover operators charge around Rs 2,500/hour. Besides this, sanitation workers, police personnel and volunteers were also actively involved in bringing the fire under control. We needed to provide food, water and refreshments to the personnel from all the departments. We have all the records of the expenses incurred during the operation,” she elaborated.