The
Hindu: Coimbatore: Thursday, September 13, 2018.
The
order by the Tamil Nadu Local Bodies Ombudsman follows a petition filed by an
activist
The
Tamil Nadu Local Bodies Ombudsman has directed the Coimbatore Corporation to
disclose the resolutions the Commissioner in his capacity as the Special
Officer had passed between July 2017 and August 2018.
The
order follows a petition by activist S.P. Thiyagarajan, who on March 24, 2018
wrote to the Ombudsman complaining that the Corporation had not uploaded
council resolutions since July 2017 on its website and that he was forced to
consider the failure to make public the resolutions as an act that abetted
corruption.
He
had also told the Ombudsman that when he approached the civic body with a Right
to Information Act query, he was asked to cough up Rs.18,710.
Commissioner’s
response
In
response to the petition, Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan wrote
to the Ombudsman on May 14, 2018 stating the reasons for not uploading the
details on the civic body website.
He
had said that the Corporation had been busy with various other works from July
to October 2017 it upgraded the Corporation website under the Urban Tree
Information System format, as mandated by the office of the Commissioner of
Municipal Administration, in November-December that year it had taken up the
property tax revision exercise, which prevented it from uploading new
information on the website, and, thereafter it undertook the ward
reorganisation work for the 100 wards in the city.
As
part of the reorganisation work, the Corporation had to also upload on its
website the new drawing showing proposed new wards with boundaries and other
details. In January 2018, the Corporation went about establishing new tax
collection centres to boost collection it had set up 58 such tax collection
counters.
As
for the demand for Rs.18,710, the Commissioner told the Ombudsman that it was
based on a resolution passed on April 27, 2012, wherein the then Council had
decided to charge Rs.100 for a resolution or for the first three pages of
details and Rs.10 for every page thereafter.
Therefore,
the demand from the petitioner Mr. Thiyagarajan was based on the resolution.
The
Ombudsman then called Mr. Thiyagarajan for inquiry who along with his friend
and witness J. Daniel pointed out on May 30, 2018 that it was the Corporation's
duty to share details of the resolutions passed.
Corporation
Council Secretary A. Amalraj submitted his statement to the Ombudsman, which
was more on the lines of what Commissioner Mr. Vijayakarthikeyan had stated in
his letter.
After
hearing the statements from both the sides, the Ombudsman headed by retired
officer S. Ayyar on August 24 this year directed the Corporation to upload
immediately the resolutions passed from July 2017 to August 2018. As for the
petitioner Mr. Thiyagarajan's applications filed under the RTI Act, the
Ombudsman said he was free to pursue with the relevant body.
Corporation
officials said they would soon post the resolutions on the civic body website.
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