TENKASI: Claiming that District Panchayat Chairperson S Tamil Selvi had inserted seven unapproved resolutions for digging farmwells at a cost of Rs 1.75 crore to a set of resolutions approved by the council, the panchayat vice-chairman and several councillors have threatened to move a no-confidence motion against her.
According to Councillor K Kanimozhi, seven resolutions were tabled during the panchayat meeting held on January 12. "We signed the resolutions and approved them. However, when we saw the minutes of that meeting today (Friday), the document contained seven more resolutions that we had not approved. The undertakings inserted without our knowledge were regarding farmwells," she added. Kanimozhi along with Vice Chairman T Udhaya Krishnan and councillors M Marimuthu and R Subramanian on Friday demanded Tamil Selvi to scrap the unapproved resolutions.
They claimed Tamil Selvi chose the beneficiaries of farm wells with selfish motives. "She takes all decisions without consulting us, and as a result the residents of some wards are denied good roads and streetlights. During the last meeting, she told us the district panchayat had funds to the tune of `2.75 crore that was allotted by the Union government. However, she keeps us in the dark about the funds that were allotted by the State government," they said.
After the allegations surfaced, the officials concluded the district panchayat meeting midway on Friday. Vice-Chairman and Congress party member Krishnan said, "If Tamil Selvi refuses to scrap the seven unapproved resolutions, we will move a no-confidence motion against her." Marimuthu said councillors belonging to the DMK would meet Chief Minister MK Stalin and submit a petition against the chairperson. The District Panchayat Council has 14 Councillors; all from the DMK and its allies.
Baseless charges, retorts Tamil Selvi
Nothing was inserted in the minutes at a later date, claimed Tamil Selvi when contacted by TNIE. "All resolutions were present in the document. They just didn't read it properly before signing. Friday morning itself, some councillors got together and decided to create a ruckus during the meeting. Vice-Chairman Krishnan had wanted a separate office like the one provided to me. He turned against me when he learnt that he would get no such office. Kanimozhi was one of the chairperson candidates whom I bested to this post," she added. Selvi also said she was not yet given an official vehicle and was shelling out money from her own pockets for travelling across the district for inspections.