Chennai: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will hold its first area sabha meeting of the year in all zones on January 25. According to a Government Order (GO) issued by the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department (MAWS) in May 2023, such meetings are mandatory four times a year in all corporations and municipalities. However, several residents and councillors who participated in previous sessions have termed the process a mere formality, alleging that the issues raised by the public are largely ignored. The meetings in Zones 1-15 will be chaired by the respective ward councillors, with the participation of assistant and junior engineers. All wards have been instructed to complete the meetings within 15 days and submit a detailed report to the central office for review. KPK Satish, councillor of Ward 182 and AIADMK floor leader, said, “Every year, these meetings have become just a formality.
The officials fail to act on the issues raised by the residents. Several infrastructure works, including stormwater drain projects, are getting delayed. Therefore, the public is reluctant to attend these meetings.” Echoing similar concerns, D Neelakannan, president of the Tamil Nadu Alliance of Resident Welfare Associations, said that residents are no longer being properly informed. “Earlier, we used to receive notices about the area sabha meetings. Now, there is no intimation from the ward councillors. Members of political parties attend these meetings instead of the residents of the respective areas,” he said. Under GO 64 dated May 22, 2023, these meetings are mandated under Sections 49-F to 49-H and Rule 180 of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act. The stipulated dates for the meetings are January 25 (National Voters’ Day), April 14 (Ambedkar’s birthday), September 15 (CN Annadurai’s birthday), and December 10 (Human Rights Day). In the GO 9016 issued by the MAWS department, it was clarified that to avoid scheduling difficulties and to ensure detailed discussions on ward-specific issues, meetings could be held within a 15-day period of the scheduled dates. However, offering a different perspective, CPI councillor M. Renuka from Ward 42 said, “Several local issues in my ward, including piped drinking water connections and road repair works, have been addressed. But the issues related to desilting of public wells in Siniamman Koil Street and Gothandraman Street have not yet been resolved.” Attempts to seek clarification from Mayor R. Priya Rajan went unanswered.
Chennai: The first area committee meeting of 2026 will be held on January 25.
