GHMC stir on, staff demands apologies from Mayor

Hyderabad, April 8 (INN): The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation main office at Tank Bund and its sister offices remain deserted on Friday, following the strike call given by the Corporation employees in protest against the Corporators' behaviour.

The entire GHMC machinery, including the Zonal Commissioners, top engineers, officers and employees including the watch and ward staff office took mass casual leave to register their protest against the manner in which their Commissioner Sameer Sharma was made to face humiliation, allegedly at the behest of Mayor Banda Karthika Reddy on Thursday at the GHMC General Council meeting.

The Corporators, except those of the MIM, with the support of Mayor took the Commissioner to task under the pretext of 'demolition' or forceful collections of property tax from the citizens which was initiated by the Commissioner in order to regularise the records or tax collections.

It may be recalled here that Dr Sharma and Mayor Karthika Reddy have not been seeing eye to eye for quite some time.

Following Thursday's 'misbehaviour' by the Corporators, the GHMC officers and Deputy Commissioners spread out under the GHMC limits under the leadership of B Srinivas Goud, President of Telangana Gazetted Officers' Association, met Chief Secretary S V Prasad and apprised him of the 'situation' under which they were forced to apply mass casual leave. They also wanted to stop sanitation work, but keeping in view the citizens' interest, they put off the sanitation work boycott.

It was also made clear that Dr Sameer Sharma did not flee from the General Council meeting yesterday as alleged, but he was compelled to leave the Council Hall under conditions which were not tolerable. The Chief Secretary reacted favourably, Mr Srinivas Goud told the waiting pressmen at the Secretariat on Friday at the Secretariat. Zonal Commissioner K Sudhakar also addressed the media persons.

They made clear that they would continue to boycott their duties until and unless action was taken against the erring Corporators who they said were on a wrong stand as all were responsible for the alleged illegal or unauthorised constructions that took place under the GHMC limits for over a period of time. It was not possible to discharge their duties under repressive methods adopted by the Mayor and her band of Corporators, who they said, employed blackmail tactics.

They were not prepared to work under these circumstances and were determined to continue until action was taken against the Corporators, the GHMC official said. They also quoted Rule 6 -79 A which was amended to punish a Corporator with suspension or dismissal if he or she was found guilty. They said that there was a method to elicit work from the staff and officers.

The GHMC official said that though they had faith and respect for a Corporator or Mayor, the behaviour by the Corporators on Thursday was reprehensible. The need to fix responsibility was stressed on but no single officer or engineer could be held responsible for a lapse, they stated.

Moreover there was a shortage of some key officers in sections like Planning and Development due to which work suffered, the GHMC official stated. Among others, they demanded a resolution on separate Telangana in the next General Council meeting.

They also demanded that the Mayor and the Corporators initiate a discussion on 'Telangana' issue before a resolution is passed. An apology was also demanded from the Mayor and the Corporators.