COIMBATORE: An urgent council meeting of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) witnessed heated exchanges on Tuesday after 55 resolutions were reportedly tabled without prior intimation, prompting councillors to protest against the move and raise concerns over civic works and tender procedures.
The meeting, held at Victoria Hall in Town Hall, was chaired by Mayor K Ranganayaki in the presence of CCMC Commissioner Katta Ravi Teja and Deputy Mayor R Vetriselvan. Of the 94 resolutions placed before the council, more than 50 were introduced as table subjects, leaving several councillors upset over the lack of time to examine them.
East Zone Chairperson Lakshmi Ilanchelvi threw copies of the subjects on the floor, questioning the manner in which the resolutions had been brought before the council. She alleged that corporation officials were failing to act on grievances raised by councillors, triggering further protests.
Following objections from several members, the meeting was postponed for an hour to allow councillors to read the tabled subjects before discussing them.
Central Zone Chairperson Meena Logu alleged that `50 lakh in ward funds meant for wards under her zone had not been allocated, with officials reportedly citing pending signatures. She also criticised delays in implementing projects initiated during the previous DMK government.
Communist party councillors, including Ramamoorthy, Sumathi and Boopathy, raised concerns over civic issues across the corporation’s 100 wards. They called for the restoration of roads dug up for underground drainage works, implementation of projects approved in the previous budget and the execution of pending scheme roads.
Several councillors also objected to the corporation's decision to extend existing contractors’ terms instead of inviting fresh tenders for development works. They demanded stringent action against contractors who quoted substantially below estimated project costs and allegedly carried out substandard work.
DMK floor leader and ward 100 councillor R Karthikeyan said some contractors had quoted less than 50% of the estimated cost. He questioned how the same contractors who had earlier sought additional payments when tar prices rose could now bid at such low rates. He urged the corporation to blacklist at least five contractors and take strict action against those responsible.
Responding to the allegations, CCMC Commissioner Katta Ravi Teja said the corporation followed established procedures and conducted tendering online, ruling out indirect dealings. He assured councillors that their concerns would be examined and appropriate action taken. Around 92 of the 94 resolutions were passed in the meeting after the councillors had raised objections to two subjects.
