HYDERABAD : GHMC Commissioner D Ronald Rose announced that as many as 45 senior officials working with the civic body even after their retirement would be removed from services. He was speaking during the GHMC council meeting on Monday.
BJP corporator V Sravan said that many officials from other departments have been working in GHMC on deputation for years. Even after 10 years on deputation, they are not leaving the corporation, he said, adding that a decision should be taken to send the long-serving officials to their parent departments.
House committees to probe irregularities, says mayor
Additionally, Mayor Gadwal Vijayalaxmi, at the request of the corporators, urged Ronald to conduct a detailed inquiry into the alleged irregularities by the advertisement wing. She also asked him to appoint a special officer and submit a detailed report. House Committees will be formed for various wings to probe irregularities, she added.
Later, the mayor said those officials who are “seriously interested” in working for the development of Hyderabad can work at GHMC while requesting the civic body commissioner to surrender the officers who are found not working sincerely and send them back to the parent departments. There are 312 officials working on deputation in GHMC.
New ad policy on the anvil
Officials said a new advertisement policy is going to be introduced to allow LED hoarding advertisements for 15 metres above high structures. The proposals have been sent to the state government for approval, they added. The state government is currently overseeing the development of a new advertising policy.
BJP corporator V Madhusudan Reddy claimed that two advertising agencies from Andhra Pradesh dominate Hyderabad’s advertising landscape, leading to significant revenue loss for GHMC. He mentioned an officer named Kartik in the advertisement wing, nicknamed ‘Kartik Tax’, allegedly engaged in unlawful collections from shopping malls, hoardings and digital boards.
He demanded that the mayor initiate a thorough probe against the said officer. In response, the Vijayalaxmi stated that a House Committee would be established to address advertisement-related concerns.
Step out of your offices: Corporators to officials
Cutting across party lines, GHMC corporators expressed their anger at the working style of the officials.
BJP and AIMIM corporators said that officials should not only sit in the offices and sign signatures but should monitor the works on the field. Members of Congress and BRS also supported them. They said that the officials are holding zonal meetings without giving information to the corporators.
Corporators raised serious concerns over unlit streetlights leading to accidents because of darkness on the roads due to lack of maintenance and demanded stringent action against the agency.
BRS MLA A Gandhi said that the electricity wing is poorly managed in GHMC. The streetlights are not been functioning properly for the last five months, he said, adding that its absence is leading to an increase in crimes.
BRS MLC MS Prabhakar, AIMIM MLA Mir Zulfiqar Ali and other ex-officio members asked the GHMC to focus on improving the corporation’s revenues by streamlining advertisements and other fees.
“What is the use of IAS officers working in GHMC if they are not in a position to sanction works worth Rs 1 lakh,” Gandhi said.
Move to confer award to ex-PM hailed
Corporators of all parties, except the AIMIM, hailed the decision to confer the Bharat Ratna to former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao. Affectionately calling him “taatha”, the corporators recalled his service to the city and the nation during deep economic turmoil.