Councillors of the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) walked out from a Corporation council meeting held on Friday during a discussion on the suspension of three officials of the Nemom zonal office during a surprise inspection conducted by the internal vigilance wing on Thursday. The BJP councillors, who had raised the issue alleging unfair action against honest officials, walked out in protest accusing the Corporation administration of denying them adequate time to speak.
The internal vigilance wing had conducted surprise inspections at three Corporation offices, 16 municipalities and 25 grama panchayats as well as one block and district panchayat office each on Thursday. At the Nemom zonal office of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, two overseers were suspended pending investigation for allegedly issuing occupancy certificates by concealing violations of the Kerala Municipal Building Rules.
At the same office, an assistant executive engineer was also suspended for issuing occupancy certificates to two buildings without the overseer’s report, even though the assistant engineer, who is supposed to decide on such files, was present at the office at that time.
The BJP councillors raised the issue as soon as the council meeting began on Friday and alleged that political interests were involved in the inspections being carried out at a specific zonal office. They accused the administration of targeting certain officials who were working efficiently.
The LDF councillors said that the officials have been suspended pending investigation. Only through an inquiry can their innocence be established. They can be reinstated in service if they come clean in the inquiry, they said.
Mayor Arya Rajendran said she had spoken to Engineering department officials and promised to convey their concerns to the State government. The Corporation will have a relook at the files in which the discrepancies were noticed, she said.
Even as the discussion on the issue went on for more than an hour, the BJP councillors walked out alleging that they were being denied adequate time to speak.
