The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) council meeting which usually presents a sign of ruckus and chaos, saw a rare display of bonhomie and camaraderie among the members on Friday as they made a joint appeal for development funds of ₹1 crore for each of the 65 wards.
Members cutting across party lines goaded, pleaded and urged Mayor Shivakumar to announce the grant to facilitate them to take up development works in their respective wards. A section of them said that the financial situation of the MCC was ’healthy’ and sparing ₹1 crore for each ward would not be an issue. The Congress, the BJP and the JD(S) members also said that development grants for councilors to take up urgent works had already been announced in the budget for 2023-24 and hence there should not be any issue arising out of it.
The Mayor entered into a confabulation with the MCC Commissioner Asad-ur-Rehman who took charge only on Thursday. He displayed his predicament on the issue and said as he had taken charge only 24 hours earlier, he was yet to get an appraisal of the financial position of the MCC. But the members were unrelenting and pointed out that their tenure was set to end in due course and hence development works could not be put on hold.
After another round of discussion, the Mayor announced ₹75 lakh for each ward to take up development works. Mr. Shivakumar also urged the councilors to get the work orders sanctioned on Monday so that no time was lost in project implementation. The decision was welcomed by the councilors.
But the bonhomie and camaraderie disappeared and there was chaos again once general subjects and other issues listed in the agenda was taken up for discussion. Deputy Mayor G. Rupa was present.
