CHENNAI: Elected representatives of urban local bodies did not receive the Chief Minister's Awards for Best Performing Local Bodies from Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay during the Independence Day celebrations at Fort St George on Saturday, breaking from the existing practice.
Officials have denied that the decision has anything to do with civic bodies being dominated by DMK and AIADMK leaders, even though such speculation is rife.
The best-performing urban local bodies are recognised with cash awards under the Chief Minister's Awards for Best Performing Local Bodies. Though the TVK-led government continued the practice of honouring the best-performing local bodies after assuming office, the elected representatives did not receive the awards in person this year. An official from the Secretariat said the decision was not politically motivated.
"The government had issued a circular regarding the Independence Day celebrations at local bodies. As per the circular, all local body representatives were required to remain in their respective local bodies and were therefore unable to travel to Chennai to receive the awards from the Chief Minister. There was nothing behind this for political reasons," the official said.
This year, Zones 2 and 6 of the Greater Chennai Corporation were selected for the Chief Minister's Award. Coimbatore and Thanjavur were selected in the Best Corporation category.
Bodinayakanur in Theni district, Arani in Tiruvannamalai district and Villupuram were selected in the Best Municipality category. Thiruvidaimarudur in Thanjavur, Karungal in Kanyakumari and Chettipalayam in Coimbatore were selected in the Best Town Panchayat category.
Most of the elected local body representatives are from the DMK. During the previous DMK regime, elected local body representatives had received the awards from the Chief Minister. However, following the change in government, officials from the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department received the awards from the Chief Minister rather than from the elected representatives.
The change in the award presentation process also resulted in the Independence Day programme concluding 15 minutes earlier than the scheduled time of 9.30 am, officials said.
Under the Chief Minister's Best Practices Award, Nilgiris District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru was honoured for initiating an integrated approach to addressing childhood stunting in the Nilgiris. However, she did not receive the award in person as she was attending the Independence Day celebrations in her district.
S Satheesh Prabhu, team head of housekeeping at Chennai Metro Rail, and M Geethajalai, Dean of Coimbatore Medical College, who was involved in the production of lightweight artificial limbs, also received awards from the Chief Minister.