CPM calls for Mayor Tony Chammany’s resignation

Kochi: The CPM has demanded the resignation of Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany for letting lapse projects worth Rs 302 crore under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). In a media release, CPM leader C.K. Manisanakar alleged that the city missed ambitious development projects, initiated under the JNNURM, during the regime of the previous LDF Council.

“Despite the extension of JNNURM for two more years by the Union Urban Development Ministry, the Corporation couldn’t materialise most of the projects. Even those schemes initiated by the LDF Council, like the Piravom drinking water project, modernisation of the Elamkulam sewage treatment plant, renovation of Broadway and Ernakulam market and the much-hyped e-governance programme, couldn’t be taken forward due to the lackadaisical attitude of the Mayor,” alleged the CPM leader.

The opposition has also lashed out at the Mayor for the recent findings of the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau that showed that most auto rickshaws procured for waste removal in the city under the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Programme had been abandoned or had disappeared.
“Massive corruption has been unearthed during the vigilance raid. The State government should expel the Mayor, who is keeping silent on corruption and has been responsible for losing the JNNURM projects,” said the CPM district secretary.