The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Land for ashram triggers debate at Council meet

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 04, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Others

Land for ashram triggers debate at Council meet

Correspondent

Councillors favour assignment of land to Khadir Baba

VIZIANAGARAM: Assignment of two acres of `Yerra Cheruvu' land at Khadir Nagar in the town for construction of an ashram by Khadir Baba witnessed heated debate and forced Chairperson M. Geetha to order for a division in the Municipal Council meeting on Tuesday.

Soon after the issue on the agenda came up for approval of the Council, Congress and BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) members argued that since the land was declared `porambok' by the Revenue Department and also had the approval of the Collector, it could be assigned to Khadir Baba who had been doing service to the poor.

Water concerns

Telugu Desam Party floor leader M. Chandrasekhar and councillor A. Vasudev, while saying that they were not opposed to allotting land to the Baba, asked the Chairperson to reconsider the decision keeping in view the depleting groundwater table and expressed anguish over encroachment of dried water tanks.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the Chairperson put the issue to voting in which majority of councillors, belonging to the Congress and the BSP, favoured assignment of the land to the Baba. Even before counting of hands was completed, the TDP floor leader submitted a letter of dissent with signatures of councillors supporting him to the Chairperson. But the Chairperson did not approve of it saying that voting on the subject had ended.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh