KOCHI: With just six months left for the fiscal year to end, the Plan Fund spending by the City Corporation is just 10 per cent. During the corporation council meeting held on Thursday, development committee chairman T.J Vinod gave out details of the Plan fund utilisation. The opposition councillors lashed out at Mayor Tony Chammany and the ruling bench for not providing details of the Plan Fund expenditure in council meetings.
Adv. M. Anil Kumar, CPM councilor, asked the Mayor to furnish details. “It has been six months, but no work has been tendered so far. The Mayor should give an explanation regarding the failure in spending Plan Funds and the delay in preparing the estimate and in inviting tenders,” he demanded. During his reply, T.J Vinod said that 81 works had been tendered so far while the estimate for 520 works was yet to be finalised after which tenders would be floated.
“The Government’s instruction to impose the Central Public Work Department’s (CPWD) rate for contract works and the new e-tendering system have slowed down the estimate preparation and tendering. Once, the staff are familiar with the new system, the process can be hastened,” T. J Vinod said. Meanwhile, replying to the debate on emergency road works, Mayor Tony Chammany said that allegations of using low quality bitumen for road repair works would be looked into. “There are reports that the bitumen supplied to the civic body is of low quality due to which roads failed to survive after the repairs. The engineering department will be asked to look into the matter,” he said.
