VIJAYAWADA: The issue of alleged possession of large extent of land in Kadapa district by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy kicked up a controversy in the general body meeting of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Saturday, leading to pandemonium for about an hour. Corporators of the Congress and the Left parties traded charges against each other and Mayor Mallika Begum had to adjourn the meeting for about 15 minutes when the situation appeared to be taking an ugly turn.

It all began when 14th division corporator U. Bahadur made a proposal to allow land transactions on stamp papers in view of the restrictions on registrations in some areas. He said poor people were facing problems while disposing of their lands, as the VMC was not accepting the transactions on stamp papers.

Even as Congress Floor leader Kunuku Rajasekhar routinely referred the issue for office remarks, CPI (M) members Ch. Babu Rao and Donepudi Kasinath accused the State Government of adopting a `dual stand' on land-related issues.

They alleged that the rich were being allowed to grab vacant lands while the poor were being harassed in the name of rules. In the process, the CPI and CPI (M) members made certain references to the Chief Minister which infuriated the Congress members.

Verbal duel

The proceedings degenerated into a verbal brawl when Congress members Samanthapudi Narasaraju, Ch. Krishna Kumar and Sistla Ramalinga Murthy began listing out various scams that allegedly took place in the States where the Left parties were in power. The meeting earlier passed a resolution opposing collection of user charges from those who use urinals in community toilets constructed on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.

It was proposed to collect 50 paise for using urinals, Rs. 2 for toilet and Rs. 5 for bathrooms. Corporators of the Left and the TDP opposed the proposal and demanded that the charges be reduced."Though the objective of the proposal is to discourage open defecation, user charges may prevent the poor from using the toilets," Mr. Babu Rao felt. Corporators of all political parties participated in a prolonged discussion on introduction of `Mayor- in-Council' system to give more powers to the Mayor. Anne Prasanna (Congress) proposed that the meeting pass a resolution urging the Government to give top priority to the VMC while introducing the system. She wanted an all-party committee to hold discussions with the Chief Minister over the issue. The meeting passed a resolution urging the State to introduce the system.

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