DMK members walk out of DISHA review meet

DMK legislators led by Leader of Opposition and party convenor R. Siva walked out of a meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committees (DISHA) held on Wednesday to review Centrally-Sponsored Schemes to protest against the administration’s alleged lack of accountability in sharing details of various schemes.

The meeting, chaired by V. Vaithilingam, MP and committee chair, had been convened to review CSS works that had been completed or in progress, across five departments — Smart City Mission, District Rural Development Agency, departments of Survey, Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare and Town and Country Planning.

Mr. Siva, in a press statement later, said no satisfactory response was forthcoming when members of the DMK and the Congress sought details on the lapse of allocated funds and the abandonment of over 30 original proposed civic infrastructure projects under the Mission. The Leader of Opposition also flagged the corruption charges shrouding some Smart City projects.

Condemning the absence of key officials at the meeting that turned the exercise into an “eye-wash,” the DMK members, including Annibal Kennedy, R. Senthilkumar and L. Sambath, MLAs, staged a walk-out from the Collectorate hall.

Among those who attended the meeting were S. Selvaganabathy, MP, M. Vaithianathan, Congress MLA, AKD Aroumougame, AINRC legislator and District Collector A. Kulothungan.