KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation has registered its protest against the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) collecting tax from the maintenance grant.

Despite repeated demands to deduct the amount from Plan funds, no action had been taken so far, said Mercy Williams, Mayor, after the discussion at the Corporation council here on Friday.

The commissioning of a new water tank at Modi Bathroom Junction, Fort Kochi, also raised some heated debate at the council meeting. The water tank was constructed using the funds given by the Corporation under the partial commissioning of the DFID-assisted Water Supply Augmentation Scheme for West Kochi.

Councillors complained that the KWA did not inform the Corporation about the inauguration. Many councillors complained that after the commissioning of the tank with a capacity of 2.2 MLD (million litres per day), the water shortage worsened in many parts of West Kochi.

Winding up the discussions, Prof. Williams said that funds for constructing toilets had been sanctioned and would be disbursed in a week's time. Steps would also be taken to improve the condition of Janaseva Centres operated by the Corporation.

Earlier, the resolution presented by Leader of the Opposition in the council A.B. Sabu urging the State Government to file a review petition against the Supreme Court order to increase the height of Mullaperiyar dam, led to heated debate in the council. Many councillors, led by N. Venugopal, DIC(K), maintained that in the light of the State Government already deciding to file a review petition, the resolution was needless.

In reply to a question posed by the councillors, the Corporation Secretary said that Rs.50,000 was given as advance to former High Court judge K. Sukumaran to present the case. M. Anil Kumar said that the amount was not enough for presenting a case at the apex court. Deputy Mayor C.K. Manisankar, C.K. Gopalan, K.M. Hamsa Kunju, P.S. Viju, V.J. Hycinth, T.J. Vinod, K.G. Dinesan and K.R. Premkumar participated in the discussions.

In another resolution, T.K. Padmanabhan urged the State Government to upgrade the Government High School at Panampilly Nagar to higher secondary status.

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