34 Chennai Councillors silent despite over 370 speaking slots across 37 Council meetings

A total of 34 Councillors of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) have not spoken in the Zero Hour of the general Council meetings so far. These include 30 representatives from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), two of the Indian National Congress (INC), one of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and an Independent.

Since May 2022, the GCC has conducted 37 Council meetings and three Budget sessions with Zero Hours. If a minimum of 10 speakers were permitted during Zero Hour every meeting, there were at least 370 speaking opportunities available. This would have given every Councillor a chance to speak, and roughly 170 more slots available for repeated speakers.

Ward and zonal meetings

The Councillor of Ward 2, S. Gomathi Santhosh Kumar, who has not spoken at the Council meetings, said that there were no issues in the ward, and that the Chennai Corporation was resolving matters efficiently at the ward and zonal committee meetings.

A resident of Ward 140, R. Thiagarajan, raised concerns about traffic congestion during peak hours near a private school by Kittu Park, along with roadside encroachments by vegetable vendors, posing risks to pedestrians. He also noted the absence of a nameboard for Arangappan Street, recently renamed, which has led to confusion.

DMK Councillor M. Sridharan of this ward responded that after these matters were flagged at the ward and zonal committee meetings, GCC assured to install 84 new nameboards and hold a mass eviction drive of roadside vendors. “Since solutions for the problems were resolved, there was no need to speak at the Council meetings,” he added.

Ward 173 Councillor D. Subashini of the INC, another Councillor who has not spoken at the Council meetings, said she had not officially spoken, but raised queries in written form to the Corporation and received replies for the matters.

On Gandhi Nagar residents pointing out a sunken road and an unauthorised shed beside a temple in her Ward that can be raised at the Council meetings, she said residents of these areas usually approached officials directly. “As I inspect slum areas mostly, I was not aware of this issue, and will check on it,” she added.

Meanwhile, AIADMK Councillor J. John of Ward 84, who has spoken multiple times at the Council meetings, alleged that several ward-level issues remained unresolved and were therefore raised in Council meetings.

Party heads

Council floor leader for the INC and Ward 6 Councillor M. Samuel Diraviam stated that all 13 party Councillors should be given chances, at least once a year. He said some INC Councillors submitted grievances to him, which were addressed during Zero Hour at the meetings. He said, “All those who requested to speak had been accommodated, but those who did not submit requests could not be encouraged, as the intention behind their remarks would be unknown i.e. may be not related to ward’s problems.”

AIADMK floor leader and Ward 7 Councillor K. Karthik said there are 15 Councillors from the party and all were offered a fair chance to speak. “The matter did not come to my attention so far. Maybe Ward 190 Councillor [P. Sivaprakasam], did not want to speak. I will look into the matter,” he said.

He added that the usual process involved submitting a speaking request to the Council department, which then forwarded it to the ruling party leader for vetting. Finalisation of speakers often takes place at the last minute, and this left many Councillors of other parties are unprepared, he mentioned.

DMK floor leader and Ward 106 Councillor N. Ramalingam stated that those who had not spoken were being encouraged often to take a chance.

He said that those who have not spoken so far would be considered for speaking at the Council meeting Zero Hour in the coming months. He added that there was no conflict or other issues for some Councillors not speaking, and the matter was only circumstantial.