Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Uproar over functioning of Kudumbasree Mission

Thiruvananthapuram: The City Corporation Council meeting here on Tuesday witnessed heated exchanges between the Treasury and the Opposition benches over the functioning of the Kudumbasree Mission.

At the end of the meeting, the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) members stormed out of the hall, shouting slogans.

While the UDF and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members alleged that the Kudumbasree set-up was heavily politicised, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) defended the mission, maintaining that the ADS (area development societies) and the CDS (community development societies) were democratically elected and therefore beyond manipulation.

The UDF councillors wanted the societies to be reconstituted. They said the societies were working at cross purposes with ward councillors, thus defeating their very purpose. Many councillors said they had no idea of the activities of the mission in their wards.

They alleged that the Project Officer for the mission had created the impression that the councillors did not have to be taken into confidence. They said the funds sanctioned by the Union government for various beneficiary schemes were allowed to lapse even as applications were piling up.

Intervening in the discussion, Mayor K. Chandrika said efforts were on to keep the councillors informed of the activities of the Kudumbasree Mission.

Monitoring

The UDF leaders K. Maheswaran Nair and R. Harikumar wanted the Corporation's Standing Committee on Finance to keep a close tab on the utilisation of funds by the Kudumbasree Mission. An allegation by the BJP councillors that Rs.1 crore had been transferred from one bank to another without the knowledge of the Corporation saw an escalation of the row.

As the Mayor declared the meeting adjourned, the Opposition members trooped out shouting that the Kudumbasree Mission was steeped in corruption and demanding that the ADS and CDS be disbanded.

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