COIMBATORE: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) have faulted the Coimbatore Corporation's approach to implementing the solid waste management scheme.

Leader of the CPI(M) in the Corporation Council and North Zone Chairman C. Padmanabhan and leader of the CPI K. Purushotaman have said in a joint statement that project reports and funding patterns should be placed in the council for its approval. It was improper on the corporation to forward proposals to the authorities concerned for clearance and decide on its own the amount of loan for the project, they said.

The statement was issued after a heated debate in the council on Friday over the corporation having to go in for huge loans to meet 50 per cent of the cost of projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Schemes for more than Rs. 3,100 crore had been drawn up for the city.

The Communist parties (allies of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Congress) and also the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam forced the corporation to keep in abeyance a resolution on granting powers to the Corporation Commissioner to obtain loans and sign on conditions for funding.

The statement said many questions about the scheme were yet to be answered. It said 12 persons had applied for preparing the detailed project report for the waste management scheme.

A technical committee set up to scrutinise the applications short-listed four consultants. This was even mentioned in the resolution placed in the council on December 29, last year. The councillors had wanted to know who appointed the technical committee and who all were in it. The corporation officials were asked whether the council had approved such a committee. But, no reply had been provided.

Even before that council meeting, the corporation had issued orders to the New Delhi-based Infrastructure Professionals Enterprises Private Limited to prepare the report. The orders had been issued without the clearance of the council. But, questions from councillors on this remained unanswered, the statement lamented.

The two parties sought replies from the corporation on certain aspects of the scheme. They wanted to know how much the civic had paid to the consultant so far, for the preparation of the report.

They also asked whether the company had an office in Coimbatore and if a daily activity report of theirs was available.

Would the corporation submit a draft copy and the final copy of the detailed project report to the council for its approval, the statement asked.

The councillors wanted to know whether the New Delhi firm had consulted the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board for its opinion on the scheme and whether it would seek the views of the corporation officials and workers involved in conservancy for the last 10 years.

They also wondered whether there was any move to get the views of the people who were affected by poor waste management, the statement asked.

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