Mayor upset over standing panel decision on meetings

AHMEDABAD, Nov 16: Groupism once again has surfaced in the ruling BJP in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, over standing committee decision, ...

AHMEDABAD, Nov 16: Groupism once again has surfaced in the ruling BJP in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, over standing committee decision, asking deputy municipal commissioners (DYMCs) to attend the general meetings of four grant-in-aid institutes.

While mayor Joitaram Patel is annoyed he was not taking into confidence by the committee which took the decision on Thursday, chairmen of several committees have decided to submit resignations to BJP steering committee chief Surendra Patel. The mayor is the chairman of V S Management Board and M J Library.

The bone of the contention is municipal commissioner S N Sinha’s proposal to the standing committee on Mnday that DYMCs should attend the M J Library, AMTS, V S Hospital and Municipal School Board meetings. These institutes are run on grants cleared by the municipal commissioner and except for the chief auditor, no other official can attend the meetings.

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According to sources, Sinha had proposed that “to bring about control over the financial and administrative matters of these four institutes, it is essential the DYMCs attend the meetings.”

Standing committee chairman Dharmendra Shah justified the decision, saying it would ensure transparency, while the mayor said that while clearing such a proposal, he as a chairman of the two boards should have been taken into confidence. On its impact on administration of these institutes, he first advised to contact Shah who had cleared the proposal, but later said this would lead to conflicts between the administrative wings of the institutes and the DYMCs.

According to him, the proposal was forwarded as an urgent item on the standing committee agenda and he was unaware of it. According to sources, move is afoot to scuttle the proposal at the AMC general board meeting. They say the board’s approval is essential and is the mayor who chair general board meetings. And a chairman of a committee, wishing anonymity, says several works forwarded on Patel’s consent, were kept in abeyance by Shah.

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