VISHAKAPATINAM: The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Council meeting on Friday witnessed ruckus as corporators of the ruling NDA, opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and Left parties engaged in heated confrontations over the proposed regularisation of government land at Rushikonda.
For the first time since the Council was constituted, the meeting was held with media personnel barred from entry, a move that drew sharp criticism from the Opposition.
The YSRCP alleged that the civic body was attempting to regularise government land valued at nearly Rs 5,000 crore in favour of a private educational institution.
The meeting began on a solemn note, with corporators observing a minute’s silence in memory of G Govinda Rao, Superintending Engineer of GVMC, who passed away recently, and Gadu Appalanaidu, husband of Ward No. 2 corporator Gadu Chinni Kumari Lakshmi.
Tensions escalated even before the agenda was taken up for discussion.
YSRCP, CPI, and CPM corporators demanded the withdrawal of an agenda item relating to the regularisation of around 54 acres of government land at Rushikonda.
The Opposition alleged that the proposal was intended to benefit the GITAM educational institutions, which they linked to Visakhapatnam MP M Sribharat.
According to inside sources, as the Mayor, Peela Srinivasa Rao, declined to withdraw the agenda, YSRCP corporators surrounded the podium, leading to heated exchanges between the Mayor, NDA corporators, and opposition members.
A brief scuffle reportedly followed, involving the Mayor, YSRCP Floor Leader Banala Srinivasa Rao, and others, during which a YSRCP corporator allegedly sustained a minor leg injury.
Following the incident, YSRCP members staged a sit-in inside the Council hall, raising slogans against the NDA and demanding that the media be allowed into the meeting. Their demand was rejected.
Despite the protests, all 15 agenda items were read out and approved, with the NDA using its numerical strength in the Council. The meeting concluded within an hour, making it one of the shortest GVMC Council meetings in recent years.
Former Deputy Mayor and YSRCP corporator Jiyyani Sridhar alleged that the agendas were approved without any discussion and claimed that even ruling party corporators were not allowed to speak.
He also criticised the presence of police personnel inside the council hall despite the exclusion of the media.
However, NDA corporators rejected the allegations of irregularities. JSP corporator PLVN Murthy stated that proposals for land alienation had been sent by the tahsildar and were placed before the council only for information.