KOCHI: The CPM leadership is learnt to have decided to start actively involved in Kochi corporation’s administration. The party leadership has asked Mayor M Anil Kumar to seek the views of senior party leaders in the council before taking major decisions.
It is believed that the party leadership’s decision follows some back-to-back controversies regarding certain decisions taken by the mayor. At the CPM councillor’s meeting held a couple of days ago, the councillors aired their views that many decisions by the corporation administration are not being communicated to them before council meetings.
The mayor’s decision to give anticipatory approval (an approval given by the mayor, in an emergency situation, anticipating that the council would ratify the decision) to telecom service providers for erecting poles for drawing optical fibre cables in the city had earned the wrath of many of the councillors, including those from the ruling front.
The UDF had stalled the proceedings of the council which discussed the agenda for ratifying the mayor’s anticipatory approval.
It is learnt that some of the ruling front councillors had lodged complaints with the party stating that the mayor should not have given anticipatory approval for the telecom service providers.
“The meeting held at Lenin Centre a couple of days ago, was attended by 24 councillors. Many of them expressed their dissent over the manner in which key decisions are taken,” sources said.
“Some of the councillors who spoke at the meeting said the approach and speeches made by a section of the ruling front councillors are causing a headache to the LDF-led administration. They use the council meetings as a platform for criticizing the ruling front,” sources said.
Besides the councillors, CPM district secretary C N Mohanan, party state committee member and former mayor C M Dineshmani, and mayor attended the meeting. Though we tried to contact C N Mohanan over phone, he did not pick up.
Meanwhile, mayor said all the decisions are taken unanimously. “The meeting was held in a cordial ambience. The allegations that the councillors criticised me are baseless. We are taking all the decisions after consulting the councillors and leaders,” Kumar said.
Many issues, including projects related to waste treatment at Brahmapuram, were also discussed at the meeting. Meanwhile, the corporation authorities have sought the support of police for addressing the issue of waste dumping on streets and have decided to erect CCTV cameras at various places where waste dumping is rampant.
