CHENNAI: Though women outnumbered men in the Chennai corporation council, aided by the 50 per cent quota provided in urban local bodies, the case was different when it came to choosing the council’s chairpersons of zonal and standing committees. Only one of the 15 zonal committees will be headed by a woman, as will two of the six standing committees.
The indirect polls for chairpersons of standing committees and members of the appointment committee was held on Thursday, and DMK councillors were elected unopposed. Members of the appointment committee, Raja Anbazhagan and S Velu, were also men.
The three chairpersons are Saritha Maheshkumar (ward 69), of the zonal committee of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, K Santhakumari (ward 81), of the Health and Family Welfare Committee, and Sarbajaya Das, of the Taxation and Finance panel.
As per the amendment to the TN Municipal Corporations Constitution of Standing Committee Rules, 1997, which were notified by the additional chief secretary to the government in 2021, 50 per cent of seats for members of the standing committee are to be reserved for elected women councillors.
“As there are more women councillors in the committees, we are a team, it doesn’t matter if more men head the committees. Even the council has more women and is led by a woman mayor,” said Sarbajaya Das. While eight of 15 positions in each panel are reserved for women, eight men each filed papers for education and town planning committees, and 10 filed papers for the works committee. After polls were postponed some men were made to withdraw nominations.
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