WAR OF WORDS: CPI(M) corporators arguing with Mayor Mallika Begum over the issue of eviction of Krishna river bank dwellers at the general body meeting of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation on Friday.— Photo: Raju. V

VIJAYAWADA: Left parties kicked up a row and stalled the proceedings of the general body meeting of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) over re-introduction of an item in the agenda before completion of a stipulated three-month gap.

The meeting was stormy, with Mayor Mallika Begum adjourning it twice to restore normalcy. It was adjourned for over 45 minutes when the Left corporators refused to budge from their stand on item number eight of the agenda. The agitated corporators relented only after the Congress dropped the item.

When the subject of construction of new quarters for VMC staff in Brindavan Colony in place of the dilapidated ones with the help of private players came up for discussion, floor leaders of the CPI, the CPI (M) and the TDP said that the issue was rejected by the general body earlier but tabled once again without waiting for the mandatory three months.

As per the byelaw 34 of the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, an item once rejected by the general body should not be tabled again within three months. CPI floor leader P. Gowtham Reddy and CPI (M) floor leader Ch. Babu Rao said they were opposed to the proposal of inviting real estate developers for construction of staff quarters.

It should be done by the VMC itself, they said, adding the conditions laid down for the real estate developers were not stringent enough.

Prolonged discussion

There was a prolonged discussion on the subject, with Congress floor leader Kunuku Rajasekhar, corporators Sistla Ramalingamurthy and Samanthapudi Narasaraju refuting the arguments of the Left members. The latter rushed to the Mayor's podium and raised slogans even as the Congress refused to withdraw the item from the agenda.

Mr. Rajasekhar maintained that the three-month rule applied only to the resolutions proposed by the members, and not to the official resolutions.

Mr. Ramalingamurthy said there was no time restriction for a `letter of business' introduced by the Municipal Commissioner. Mr. Narasaraju said that the subject was included as three months was already over. However, corporators of neither the ruling Congress nor those of the opposition were able to say with confidence whether three months had elapsed or not. The Mayor and Congress leaders negotiated with floor leaders of the three parties (including the TDP) and decided to withdraw the item to break the deadlock.

MP clarifies

Meanwhile, MP Lagadapati Rajagopal clarified that there was no move to forcibly shift any of the dwellers of Krishna riverbank.

However, those who came forward on their own to move away from the riverbank would be given preference in allotment of 15,000 houses sanctioned for the city under Jawaharalal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), he said in a statement.

The MP said those living in huts in the riverbed would be shifted at any cost, as their lives would be in danger whenever there was a flood. Some dwellers of the riverbank too, during the recent flood, sought alternative location for their living. The Congress was wedded to the commitment it made in respect of protecting the interests of riverbank dwellers, he said.

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