Corporators clear proposals without deliberations

After rescheduling the civic standing committee and improvements committee meetings before 12pm so that they could watch the India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final, the corporators, on Wednesday, cleared proposals without even deliberating on them.

After rescheduling the civic standing committee and improvements committee meetings before 12pm so that they could watch the India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final, the corporators, on Wednesday, cleared proposals without even deliberating on them.

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The standing committee, which controls the city’s coffers, could not escape the cricket fever. On Wednesday, its members approved 41 of the 46 proposals tabled, totaling worth more than Rs 400 crore, in a little less than two hours.

“There were only three major discussions... Other proposals , in which any member had any query, were put off for a later date,” said a civic official present in the meeting. The committee approved the Rs 340-crore Metro blood bank proposal without letting the officials even complete the presentation.

The improvements committee meeting lasted for 17 minutes, despite having 38 proposals to deliberate on. The members put off 36 proposals for the next meeting and approved only two — without any deliberations.

“I had queries for most of the proposals, but they were put off, thanks to the match,” said Congress corporator Upendra Doshi. The committee put off the proposal to grant an extension to a foreign consortium to revise the city’s development plan, delaying it by 30 months.

“It was not just cricket that was responsible for the committees to clear proposals so quickly. These were the last meetings before the standing committee chairman’s polls,” said a Congress corporator, requesting anonymity.