Hyderabad, February 16: Telugu Desam, the main opposition party in the GHMC Council, has threatened to approach the courts if the government did not revoke its recent orders issued towards formation of the standing committee.
In a memorandum submitted to Mayor B. Kartika Chandra Reddy on Monday, Party floor leader S. Srinivas Reddy (Saidabad) and others alleged that the rules were framed only to deny an opportunity to TDP to have a representative in the committee which will be vetting all financial proposals before they are put to the Council for vote.
Mr. Reddy pointed out that just like the Mayor, who will now preside over the standing committee, the Opposition too has a responsibility to voice concerns of the common people in the powerful panel. He demanded reversion to the earlier method.
In the erstwhile MCH, the committee had 10 members who were all respective ward chairpersons and from among them a chairperson was elected for a period of one year. However, under the new rules, the committee could have between 5 to 15 members at a rate of one member for every 10 or 15 wards (to be decided by the Commissioner).
The TDP’s fear is that the precise number of members that can be elected has been kept deliberately hazy to ensure it is kept out. If the panel has 15 members, it stands to lose out because of the majority enjoyed by the Congress-Majlis combine. Another fear lurking for the TD is the mention of ‘secret ballot’ to choose the committee members by all corporators.
–Agencies