Corporators, GHMC staff headed for showdown
Hyderabad, April 8 (INN): The row between the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials and the Corporators appeared to be heading to a standoff on Friday after the elected representatives demand that GHMC Commissioner Sameer Sharma tender unconditional apologies to the residents of the city and to the GHMC itself.
Talking to media persons after attending a meeting called by Mayor Banda Karthika Reddy at the GHMC head office at Tank Bund, the Corporators said that the act of walking out of the General Council meeting by Dr Sameer Sharma was a 'black spot' and a blot on the Corporation itself.
The Corporators, led by Congress Floor Leader Kaleru Venkatesh and Standing Committee Member Harshvardhan Reddy told media persons that the Commissioner had increased the penalties on illegal constructions to 600 per cent in an attempt to damage the image of the Corporators who were elected by the people.
They said that that the Corporators had been highlighting the illegal constructions repeatedly but the GHMC officials had disregarded their complaints and no action was taken. This was done to penalise the hapless citizens and collect more money for the Corporation in the form of penalties, and to damage the Corporators' image.
When asked why the Congress did not introduce a resolution in the Council to press the government to shift Dr Sameer Sharma, Mr Venkatesh said that this was not done since the party lacked the requisite strength to get the resolution passed.
Meanwhile, Dr Sameer Sharma attended his duties, even as the GHMC staff had called for a strike in his support. Dr Sharma was seen in his chambers at the GHMC head office and he is reported to have cleared seven files before leaving at around noon.
According to sources, the GHMC Commissioner had met his junior officers at the Administrative Staff College of India late on Thursday night and discussed with them the strategy to push the Corporators into a corner on the current row.
News Posted: 8 April, 2011
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