Corp fixed fees for garbage
Even after the close of the meeting, members of the Communist parties and the AIADMK stage a sit-in in the Coimbatore Corporation Council on Monday.The Coimbatore Corporation finally managed to fix a fee for door-to-door collection of garbage. The monthly fee was fixed on the basis of Property Tax rates (see graphics).The poor, including those living in the slums need not pay the fee. They will, however, be provided with bins free of cost to store waste that will be collected by the Corporation workers. This will be done under the Rs.96-crore Integrated Solid Waste Management project to be implemented under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The combined majority of the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) helped in passing the resolution on the fee at the Council meeting on Monday.But, the meeting ended in chaos with a major section of the Opposition rejecting the fee and staging a sit-in inside the Council hall till late in the night.Councillors of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam raised slogans against the Corporation after DMK and Congress councillors left the hall in the evening saying that all the resolutions had been passed.The councillors refused to move out even as police were deployed in good strength on the Corporation premises.
Later, CPI(M) member C. Padmanabhan said that the protest was called off following an assurance from the Corporation to take a fresh look at some of the contentious resolutions. “We also want the DMK to give up its unilateral approach,” he said.Mayor R. Venkatachalam said that of the 72 members in the Council, one of them (N. Thangavelu of the MDMK) was absent. Of the rest 71, the DMK had 30 members and the Congress eight. Two Independent councillors also supported the fee. “We had the majority and therefore decided not to put the resolution on the fee to vote,” the Mayor said after the meeting.
The morning session of the Council was also dominated by the opposition to the fee. The AIADMK councillors staged a sit-in at the start of the meeting in the morning to oppose the fee.Listed as the first subject in the agenda, the fee issue was raised by AIADMK member P. Rajkumar as soon as the Council was called to order.“If you cannot collect garbage without a fee, then quit,” he said. The AIADMK members raised slogans and demanded that the residents, especially the poor, should not be burdened with a garbage fee.Mr. Padmanabhan and CPI member R. Kalyanasundaram persuaded the AIADMK members to return to their seats.
When Mr. Rajkumar stood at his seat and demanded an explanation from the Mayor, the latter retorted asking: “When have you allowed me to speak? I am trying to explain the reason behind the fixing of a fee and you never allow me to do it.”As the AIADMK members kept arguing, the Mayor warned that he would have to order their eviction from the Council if they continued to stall the proceedings.Angered, Mr. Rajkumar staged a sit-in again.Then the AIADMK members surrounded the Mayor and expressed their resentment over the fee. The DMK members tried to counter this. After some minutes they returned to their seats.Mr. Padmanabhan then insisted that the Council first discuss the issue of the garbage fee.
The Mayor said a discussion could be held when the subject was taken up after the Zero Hour.The CPI(M) member rejected this suggestion arguing that if parties did not speak on such contentious issues, it might be taken as tacit support to the fee.Mr. Padmanabhan was alluding to the criticism against his party over not staging a walkout when the drinking water charges were raised.
