Only 24 had 100 pc attendance, 11 councillors never spoke

Only 24 of the 200 councillors attended all the Council meetings of Greater Chennai Corporation during the 2011-16 term, while 11 did not speak even once in the monthly meetings in those five years. This data, obtained under RTI, comes at a time when more than six million voters in Chennai are getting ready to elect their representatives, hoping that their issues would be taken up at the Council meetings.

As per the reply furnished by the Corporation under RTI, 11 councillors did not speak in the 62 meetings, while 14 spoke only once. Of these 25 local body representatives, 22 were from AIADMK, two from DMK and one from Congress, the document revealed. During the period, AIADMK that was in power in the State, had 170 councillors while DMK had 21.

“Of the 200 councillors, only 24 took part in all the 62 Council meetings held every month. What action did the parties take against those who did not speak in the council meetings,” asked GM Shankar, the petitioner who filed the query under RTI. Of the 24 councillors who never missed a meeting, 17 were from AIADMK, four from DMK and one from Congress. Interestingly, the lone independent member in the Corporation Council took part in all the 62 meetings in those five years.

Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor, Arappor Iyakkam, said the attendance details should be released to ensure transparency. “If the attendance is released publicly, councillors will perform,” he said.