VMC chief sees red over lights

VADODARA, June 17: The stage is set for a showdown between the administrative and elected wings of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, wi...

VADODARA, June 17: The stage is set for a showdown between the administrative and elected wings of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, with Municipal Commissioner G R Aloria asking the State government to suspend a General Board decision allowing councillors to install streetlights on private property at municipal cost.

By doing so, Aloria is taking on the 78 councillors who virtually forced the General Board to adopt a resolution in March, allowing each of them to put up 50 streetlights in housing societies, trust premises and other private property. The populist step was expected to stand the councillors in good stead at ballot-box time.

While Mayor Bharati Vyas, the head of the elected wing, only responded with a 8220;no comment8221; 8212; and then relented to state that the General Board thought councillors should have the same 8220;suggesting8221; privileges as MLAs 8212; Aloria has made no secret of his opposition to the move. His request for the suspension dates back to the time the resolution was okayed by elected wing decision-makers, who cannot but have been aware that the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act did not sanction such works.

Standing Committee chairman N V Patel admitted as much. 8220;The Act doesn8217;t permit such works, but the resolution had to be passed because of the pressure from councillors, cutting across party lines8221;, he said. Neither senior BJP councillor Ratilal Desai nor Congress leader in the VMC Kanchan Parmar appeared to be in a mood to abide by the law. 8220;Why doesn8217;t the commissioner follow the BPMC Act at all times?8221;, asked Desai. 8220;I can provide several instances when the law has been flouted.8221;

He added, 8220;I8217;ll protest against Aloria8217;s move, but the Mayor should be the one taking the initiative since the decision was taken under her chairpersonship.8221;

The Congress, too, would oppose the decision, Parmar said. 8220;So what if there8217;s no such provision in the BPMC Act. If the MLAs have the right to install streetlights, so must councillors8221;, he argued.

Aloria, however, shows no sign of relenting. 8220;In no circumstances can it be implemented under law8221;, he said. Technically, he8217;s well within his rights in seeking the reversal of a majority decision if he perceives it to be against the VMC8217;s interests.

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Though the decision may win the councillors another election, no way does it make financial sense for the VMC to foot the Rs 1.17 crore bill the implementation would entail. This would be, of course, apart from the Rs 3.75 crores it spends annually on 40,000 streetlights, several of which were installed in housing societies on MLAs8217; suggestions.

Incidentally, this is Aloria8217;s second tryst over streetlights; earlier, he had warned legislators that their suggestions for streetlights in private housing societies would not be entertained either if the societies did not bear the bills.

Despite protests from MLA Yogesh Patel, the VMC has effectively stymied implementation of 150 suggestions MLAs put up for streetlights. But so far as the councillors 8212; and, allegedly, certain members of the elected wing 8212; are concerned, double standards are obviously permissible.