Two Councillors from Kancheepuram municipal corporation (KMC) have approached the Madras High Court complaining that Mayor M. Mahalakshmi had passed as many as 96 resolutions in the meeting held on September 3 without permitting any discussion on the floor of the council.
Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan on Friday called for the response of KMC to the writ petition filed jointly by 16th ward councillor Santhi Durairajan and 34th ward councillor S.P. Praveenkumar for declaring the September 3 council meeting as well as the resolutions passed on that day as null and void.
The petitionersโ counsel M. Gnanasekar argued that the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023 lay down the procedure for conducting the council meetings and that those rules require every agenda placed before the council to be discussed properly before passing the connected resolutions.
When the contiguous Greater Chennai Corporation as well as the Tambaram Corporation strictly follow the practice of opening the floor of the council for discussion on every agenda, there was no reason why the Kancheepuram corporation alone would not follow the procedures, he said.
Filing a common affidavit on behalf of both the petitioners, Ms. Durairajan said, even before the convening of the September 3 corporation council meeting, the 11th ward councillor Shanmuganatham had submitted a representation to the Mayor as well as Corporation Commissioner to ensure a discussion.
Yet, the Mayor did not allow any discussion on the day of the meeting and declared all 96 resolutions to have been passed by the council. โThe action of the fourth respondent in making such a declaration on the floor of the corporation meeting is highly illegal,โ the petitioners said.
Published – September 07, 2024 12:54 am IST
