The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Corporation can meet once in 3 months: Bill passed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 14, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Corporation can meet once in 3 months: Bill passed

Special Correspondent

Opposition against amendment to Act

CHENNAI: The Assembly on Wednesday passed a Bill to amend the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919, reducing the periodicity of the council meetings to once in three months instead of every month, despite stiff resistance from almost all the Opposition parties — the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Congress, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

`No political motive'

Strongly defending the move, the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, said the amendment would not come in the way of holding more meetings of the council besides calling urgent meetings. "The Government feels that it will be sufficient if the council meetings are convened at least once in every three months so that the officers of the Corporation will spend more time in field than as being done now."

Denying any political motive behind the move, she said there was a time when the council meetings were held every week in a dignified manner. But of late, whenever the council met, violent and unruly scenes were witnessed. Nothing constructive was discussed there. Only with a view to curbing this trend, which brought disrepute to the State, the Government had taken a decision to alter the periodicity of the meetings.

On the Congress leader, S.R. Balasubramoniyan's remark that the Government could dissolve the council if the local body was not allowed to function with full powers, she said the Government had no intention to curb its powers.

The Minister for Information and Local Administration, K.P. Anbazhagan, said that in view of revision of powers of the Standing Committees and the Corporation Commissioner, the need for holding monthly meetings for according clearance for various tenders and other important issues had come down.

Stalin accepts challenge

Mr. Stalin (DMK) accepted the Law Minister, D. Jayakumar's challenge for a public debate on the issue. Arcot N. Veerasamy (DMK) asked the Government to reconsider the amendment.

S.G. Vinayagamurthy (Congress) said when there was a general rule for all local bodies on the periodicity of the council meetings, where was the need to single out the Chennai Corporation?

I. Ganesan (PMK) dubbed the amendment undemocratic. K. Mahendran (CPI-M) and V. Sivapunniyam (CPI) urged the Government to refer it to a select committee. H. Raja (BJP) said by amending the Act, the Government was setting a bad precedent.

DPA walkout

Flaying the Government's decision to go ahead with the amendment, the Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) parties staged a walkout.

Members belonging to the DPA parties also opposed the Bill to amend the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act, 1983 to extend the term of special officers of cooperative societies for one more year on the ground that the decision would harm the cooperative movement. The PMK MLAs staged a walk out opposing the Bill.

The Assembly also passed the Tamil Nadu Fiscal Responsibility (Amendment) Bill, 2005; the Tamil Nadu Panchayats (Amendment) Bill, 2005 and the Bill to amend the Tamil Nadu Payment of Salaries Act, 1951 to enhance the allowances of the legislators.

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