Kerala - Kochi   

Ombudsman orders demolition of building

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, JUNE 4. In a landmark decision, the Ombudsman for Local Bodies, K.P. Radhakrishna Menon, has ordered the demolition of an "illegally constructed" building on a drain on the Sahodaran Ayyappan Road and also held the Kochi Mayor personally liable for maladministration.

While ordering the demolition of the building within two months, the Ombudsman said the Corporation suffered revenue loss, which under law, was liable to be recovered from the Mayor by invoking Section 271 (Q) of the Panchayat Act.

The order was issued today on a complaint by a resident, N.N. Sudheer, that the Corporation had constructed a building on a drain that was surrendered for widening the Sahodaran Ayyappan Road.

Mr. Radhakrishna Menon pointed out that the Section 90 of the Municipalities Act said that a person should be disqualified from being chosen as or being a councillor of a municipality, if he had been held personally liable for maladministration by the Ombudsman citing loss, wastage or misuse of money or property of the municipality.

He also held councillors liable for maladministration and the liability for the loss, as in the case of the Mayor, would be decided after issuing due notice to them. He ordered that showcase notices be served to them.

The administrative powers to implement the provisions of the Kerala Municipalities Act and the resolutions validly passed by the Council had been vested in the Mayor and he had also been made directly responsible for the proper discharge of the functions imposed under the Act, the order said.

These special provisions were intended to maintaining probity, uprightness, integrity, honesty and conscientiousness in administration. These codified salient principles were for assuring real service to the inhabitants of the Corporation. The Mayor consciously jettisoned the said principles and the result was maladministration and consequential revenue loss which was the money spent for the illegal construction of the building, the order said.

Mayor's charge

The Mayor, C.M. Dinesh Mani, has said that the repeated interference of the Ombudsman for Local Bodies in the affairs of the Kochi Corporation is hampering the civic administration.

Replying to the discussions in the corporation council today, Mr. Mani said the functioning of the civic body had been affected as a large number of the Corporation officials were spending most of their time at the sitting of the Ombudsman. Of late, the Forum had been making personal attacks against the Mayor and the councillors, he said.

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