The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) council passed a unanimous resolution to stop privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), here on Friday. This was the first resolution passed by the new council which was formed after the recently held Urban Local Body (ULB) elections in March 2021.
Corporators of various political parties, including the YSR Congress Party, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), CPI, CPI(M), Jana Sena Party and independents, have agreed to pass the resolution after Mayor G. Hari Venkata Kumari brought the issue before the council members. The Mayor said that the resolution would be forwarded to the State government.
Speaking on the issue, MP M.V.V. Satyanarayana said that the YSRCP has conducted number of agitations and met Central Ministers on the issue. Supporting the council’s resolution, he said that the party would continue its fight against VSP privatisation. Gajuwaka MLA T. Nagi Reddy and CPI(M) corporator from Ward No. 78 B. Ganga Rao hailed the decision.
Earlier TDP leader and corporator from 67th ward, P Srinivasa Rao, and a few others questioned the members of YSRCP, why no resolution is passed in the Assembly yet.
The TDP leaders also suggested the YSRCP leaders to take a leaf out of agitation for Telangana and said that resignation of MPs is the only way left to stop privatisation.
There were heated arguments between the members of TDP and YSRCP, when Anakapalle MLA Gudivada Amarnath, an ex-officio member, said that their party does not sing different tunes “one in Delhi and another in the gully”. He said that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had met members of various unions in his recent visit to Visakhapatnam. As soon as the Assembly session begins, their party would pass a resolution, he added.
Meanwhile, members of the Left parties, Jana Sena and the TDP urged the Mayor to organise question hour in the council meet. A few members also said that the council should oppose the decision to sell government lands in Visakhapatnam.
10-point agenda
A 10-point agenda was placed before the council members. Among them include utilisation of services of 38 community guards at beach areas, facelift of Mudasarlova park at a cost of ₹50 crore, to control pollution under the National Clean Air Programme, construction of urban Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Thatichetpalem, additional supply of street lights (LED) to the city, action plan for supply of drinking water during this summer, budget allocations for garbage transport vehicles and a few others.
The proposal for utilisation of services of 38 community guards at beach areas was put on hold as some of the corporators questioned about the skills of the guards. JSP leader P.L.V. Murthy Yadav suggested that the Tourism Department should bear the salaries and other expenses of the community guards, instead of the GVMC. Visakhapatnam (South) MLA Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar said that the district administration should appoint the youth from the fishermen community as community guards. A few corporators demanded that the GVMC appoint guards at Yarada, Meghadrigedda and other beaches also.
The council approved the proposals of giving wages to NMR workers in Anakapalle zone, setting up PHC at Thatichetpalem after the GVMC announced that the project would be taken up under the National Health Mission (NHM). The proposal for additional supply of street lights was also put on hold, as several corporators complained of non-functioning of street lights at their respective wards.
