Raipur, April 29, 2010
The liquor shop at Vijeta Complex near Shastri Bazar that had been sealed by the RMC earlier this month has reopened on Thursday. According to information, the liquor contractor Amolak Singh Bhatia, who was operating the shop, had go stay from the court against municipal’s decision to seal the shop. On the other hand, Mayor Kiranmayi Nayak alleged that the shop restarted because of nexus between the shop owner and specific municipal officials.
“Strange facts surfaced about the shop recently according to which the leased shop was illegally sold to the liquor contractor much earlier by one Basant Bagde who clinched the deal by claiming himself as the representative of the then municipal Commissioner,” Nayak said. She doubted that the RMC incurred huge loss owing to corrupt officials and considering the seriousness of the matter, she would conduct inquiry into it.
Mayor further said that she would like closure of both liquor shop as well as the bar based in the first floor of Vijeta Complex. “In fact, no liquor shops should remain open in any of the RMC properties including the one being operated at Tikarapara,” Nayak said.
Notably, the shopkeepers around the Shastri Bazar have launched protest against the liquor shop and bar for the past several days and had demanded from both the district administration and the government to remove them from the locality considering frequent movements of people, especially women and girls due to vegetable market and temples, mazars and mosques. The RMC had sealed the liquor shop opened in the shop number 19 at the ground floor of Vijeta Complex on April 5, 2010.
The municipal has given the shop on lease to one Rajkumar Leela Ram, but he violated the norms and rented the shop to the liquor contractor Amolak Singh Bhatia without taking permission from the civic authorities.
When RMC administration later learnt about this, it cancelled the lease deed of the shop on March 25, 2010 and asked Bhatia to vacate the shop.
Govt imposing heavy taxes, not civic bodies: Congress
Alleges govt misusing officials to affect municipal works
Raipur, April 29, 2010
Congress has clarified that the consolidated taxes including property tax have been hiked abruptly by the state government and by not civic bodies. “The BJP corporators are misleading people that the taxes have been imposed by the Congress-ruled civic bodies, but actually it is the state government that has taken this infamous decision which is applicable to all the civic bodies, however it is posing as innocent and making us scapegoat,” said the mayors of Raipur, Bilaspur and Rajnandgaon during a joint press conference at Congress Bhawan on Thursday.
The PCC president Dhanendra Sahu and Leader of the Opposition in state Assembly Ravindra Choubey also condemned the government for using its machinery in affecting the works of Congress-ruled civic bodies. “The government is attempting to sully the image of Congress mayors which is intolerable. It is shame that the government is disregarding the people’s mandate who have given opportunity to Congress in Raipur, Bilaspur and Rajnandgaon municipals,” the duo said.
“We warn the government to stop this biased attitude and habit of shifting responsibility to others or else we would launch massive agitation,” the duo said.
The RMC Mayor Kiranmayi Nayak informed that the government had imposed consolidated taxes at the rate of Rs 50 per month back in February 5, 2010 through a notification owing to which the common man would have to incur Rs 600 per year. Similarly, the slum dweller had to pay Rs 25 as annual tax in the previous years, but the government had raised it to Rs 300 per year, she said. Nayak clarified that the RMC had exempted the houses constructed up to 600 sq ft area from property tax according to its promise, but the BJP corporators were creating doubts in minds of people by providing fake figures. The RMC has also rejected proposal of the government to hike property tax of commercial areas by 350 percent and the entire matter would now be reconsidered, she added.
The Mayor of Bilaspur Municipal Corporation (BMC) Vani Rao said the Congress mayors inherited bankrupt municipal bodies but the government want to make them self-reliant by imposing heavy taxes. The Mayor of Municipal Corporation of Rajnandgaon (MCR) Naresh Dakalia said the government should stop playing politics and must support them in solving the problems of common mass.
Mayor demands sacking of RMC Commissioner
For misusing his powers
Raipur, April 29, 2010
Mayor Kiranmayi Nayak has demanded from the Chief Secretary P joy Oommen to sack RMC Commissioner Om Prakash Choudhary for misusing his powers and failing to control his unrestraint subordinates. Nayak, who was accompanied by Congress and independent corporators, complained about Choudhary in written to the Chief Secretary on Thursday and expressed her concerns that Choudhary’s adamant attitude had severely impacted the RMC’s development works.
She said in spite of no instructions by the government to postpone the election process of zone presidents on Thursday, Choudhary issued directives to revoke the procedure which was against the municipal norms. The Chief Secretary also agreed with Nayak and assured her to quickly solve the issue. Nayak also gave another letter to him seeking approval to conduct zone president polls on May 5, 2010.
Corporators gherao RMC Commissioner
For ignoring problems of their wards
Raipur, April 29, 2010
The Congress and independent corporators on Thursday noon gheraoed RMC Commissioner Om Prakash Choudhary alleging that he was biased and was deliberately ignoring the problems of the wards. Denying the charges, Choudhary said he had no inclination towards any political party and was discharging his duty sincerely. However, when the corporators started leveling several allegations against him, Choudhary got angry asked the corporators to leave his office.
The RMC is gradually turning into a battleground where not only the BJP and Congress corporators are regularly entangling into verbal assaults on various issues, but even the RMC Commissioner Choudhary is reported to have locked horns with Mayor Kiranmayi Nayak well as Congress and independent corporators.
All the corporators say that the development works in their areas had come to a virtual halt owing to Choudhary’s negligent attitude. On Thursday, they decided to jointly gherao Choudhary and to inform him about the pathetic conditions of the wards, especially about water crisis and insanitation, but when they reached his office in the afternoon, he had not arrived. The corporators contacted him over phone but Choudhary said he would be back in 30-45 minutes. The corporators decided to wait and on Choudhary’s arrival, started narrating him about their problems and alleging that he was not cooperating with them.
The independent corporator Mrityunjay Dubey alleged that neither Choudhary nor his subordinates conduct inspection of wards to see the problems.
The Congress corporator Anwar Hussein alleged that Choudhary was intentionally ignoring their problems and was more engrossed in flattering the ministers and the government’s senior officials due to which many wards were facing acute water crisis which would have to be solved at the earliest to public outburst.
Hussein also pointed out towards a complaint he had made to the RMC administration a month ago in which he had informed that a kin of one BJP leader had distributed tap connections taking certain amount in his ward but no action was taken till date. He demanded from Choudhary to lodge FIR against the guilty person.
The other corporators also alleged that the municipal administration was only interested in supplying water to the ministers and government officials while it is completely indifferent towards thirst of common mass.
Another Congress corporator Pramod Dubey said Choudhary should visit each ward along with local corporators to learn the problems of the residents.
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