Rajkot Municipal Corporation's final general board turns into a riot: Opposition issues uproar over urgent proposal for installment of fine for flower beds, 14 proposals approved in 10 minutes

With just hours to go before the end of the current 5-year term of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, the final and special general board held today was as turbulent as expected. With the term of the incumbents set to expire on March 11, the Opposition had lodged a strong protest with serious allegations of corruption, favouritism and irregularities. Politics reached its climax on the issue of alleged illegal constructions by the ruling party office-bearers, especially the proposal to pay the installment of crores of rupees in the amount of fines to regularize the illegal constructions in the name of flower beds in multi-storey buildings. Leader of the Opposition Vashram Sagathia staged an aggressive protest by displaying banners that read 'Illegal construction of standing chairman after mayor'. Controversy over installment system in Flower Bed fine and big relief to builders The most important decision has been taken in the board today for the builders in Rajkot. The new instalment system has been implemented by the Rajkot Municipal Corporation in pursuance of the decision taken in the special case of the Urban Development Authority of the state government and the Cabinet. Until now, builders had to pay a fine of crores of rupees in one go to regularize the illegal constructions made in the name of flower beds in multi-storey buildings, which many builders were reluctant to pay. In order to provide financial relief to the builders in this situation, a provision has been made for the instalment system as announced in the budget of the new financial year. Giving detailed information about this, Standing Chairman Jaimin Thackeray said that if a builder has to pay a BU charge of up to Rs 50 lakh, then he will be able to pay directly through cheque. But, in case the fine or charge amount exceeds Rs 50 lakh, builders will be allowed to pay the amount in a total of 4 equal instalments at three-month intervals over a period of 1 year. After the commissioner's refusal, the office bearers used their privilege to bring the proposal It is to be noted that even though Municipal Commissioner Tushar Sumera had earlier categorically refused to make such a proposal, the office bearers used his prerogative to bring an urgent proposal in the matter and approved it. This decision will greatly facilitate builders to pay a lump sum of Rs 5 or Rs 10 crore. Leader of the Opposition Vashram Sagathia expressed his opposition to the matter. And the rulers said that the urgent proposal was made to benefit the builders in violation of the provisions of the GPMC Act. Serious allegations of opposition: Claim of violation of GPMC Act Leader of the Opposition Vashram Sagathia arrived at the General Board today with full preparations. They came down heavily on the ruling party with the book of the GPMC Act. He claimed that no such urgent proposals could be brought to the specially convened board as per the provisions of the law. Sagathia sent a letter to the mayor and also warned the board that if the resolution was passed against the rules, he would take legal action in the matter and the mayor would have to respond to the court. Sagathia made not only legal but also personal allegations. He alleged that illegal construction was being carried out by standing chairman Jaimin Thakar near the garden in Panchavati Society Street No. 2 in Ward No. 8 without keeping a margin space. "When I went to the spot and checked, the labourers there admitted that the house belonged to Jaimin Thakar. If they are defending the house by claiming that it belongs to their sister, is their sister also allowed to construct illegal constructions in violation of the rules? Sagathia has also lodged a written complaint in this regard. The allegations from the opposition led to a huge uproar in the board. The Standing Chairman's Counter-Attack and Cleanup Standing chairman Jaimin Thackeray clarified the allegations of illegal construction against him with utmost confidence. "My wife has a plot in her name which is completely legal. I am a builder by profession and am fully aware of all the rules in the construction sector. I have not constructed even 1 foot of illegal construction. He further clarified that sufficient margin has been left as per the GDCR of the new Town Planning Act. They are making baseless allegations as the opposition has no issues. Thackeray said he is a responsible taxpayer and is ready to publicly submit his tax figures and all evidence. He termed the opposition's protest as "without study". In just 10 minutes, 14 proposals were approved and the work of the board was declared complete. Amid huge uproar, sloganeering and banners, the ruling party continued to work according to its strategy. Within a short span of 10 minutes, 12 proposals on the agenda and 2 urgent proposals were taken, a total of 14 works were approved with majority. Important decisions taken in today's board: It is worth mentioning that the ruling party had approved all the 14 proposals in a matter of minutes, completely ignoring the opposition's representations in this special board of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation. It was evident that the office bearers were in a hurry to ensure that the code of conduct was not affected as the term was coming to an end. Leader of Opposition Vashram Sagathia finally once again alleged that the rulers were breaking rules in the interest of builders. On the other hand, the mayor and the standing chairman termed all these decisions as the development of the city and public interest. With the completion of the board, the municipal corporation is now witnessing an election atmosphere and preparations towards administrative governance.