Karunanidhi wouldn't have expected such a ruckus
When MLAs in Tamil Nadu went to Chief Minister Karunanidhi
seeking allotment of 2,400 sq feet of prime land near Chennai (for housing purposes), he predictably agreed. Reason: The DMK is a minority government run with Congress support. Gnanasekaran – the Congress MLA who led the move – had no trouble getting the signatures of 105 MLAs. But some sections of people in the state are at odds with the decision. The question some are asking is – if each legislator is allotted a spacious flat in the MLA hostel, why this new requirement?
Gnanasekaran gives his defence saying his demand is justified. After all, he says, there are several states where MLAs get houses in colonies just as journalists do, "All sections of people are given houses; so why make an exception of MLAs?”
CPM MLA Balabharathy disagrees, “This is a selfish demand. In Chennai city alone, one lakh people live without patta land. Considering there is such huge land scarcity, how can the government give away the land to MLAs?” Agrees Thamazharuvimanian, senior political activist and writer: “Every five years, 234 MLAs get elected. If this practice becomes the norm, a time will come when the rest of us will need to go to the Bay of Bengal to find shelter! There are leaders like Jeeva in this state who lived in huts all their lives." A convoluted logic, surely; but the writer makes a better point when he says, "Most MLAs own crores of rupees. All of them should seek housing loans like ordinary people.”
Gyanasekaran makes his relevant point by commenting, “It is not as though we are asking the land for free... We will pay at the rate fixed by the Housing Board." Sensing opportunity, the Communist parties have been joined by the Bharatiya Janata Party in opposing the move. The vice-president of BJP’s state unit says this is setting a dangerous precedent. “Other things apart, it will also push up real estate prices in the locality,” he fears. Some critics point out that many of the flats in the MLA hostel are occupied by their relatives.
It is true that MLAs recently got their salary raised to Rs 50,000 per month after putting in a request through the relevant chambers. Coming at close heels of this raise, the 'housing' request was surely expected to raise a few hackles. But the noise level the issue has reached has surprised even the CM.
When MLAs in Tamil Nadu went to Chief Minister Karunanidhi
seeking allotment of 2,400 sq feet of prime land near Chennai (for housing purposes), he predictably agreed. Reason: The DMK is a minority government run with Congress support. Gnanasekaran – the Congress MLA who led the move – had no trouble getting the signatures of 105 MLAs. But some sections of people in the state are at odds with the decision. The question some are asking is – if each legislator is allotted a spacious flat in the MLA hostel, why this new requirement?Gnanasekaran gives his defence saying his demand is justified. After all, he says, there are several states where MLAs get houses in colonies just as journalists do, "All sections of people are given houses; so why make an exception of MLAs?”
CPM MLA Balabharathy disagrees, “This is a selfish demand. In Chennai city alone, one lakh people live without patta land. Considering there is such huge land scarcity, how can the government give away the land to MLAs?” Agrees Thamazharuvimanian, senior political activist and writer: “Every five years, 234 MLAs get elected. If this practice becomes the norm, a time will come when the rest of us will need to go to the Bay of Bengal to find shelter! There are leaders like Jeeva in this state who lived in huts all their lives." A convoluted logic, surely; but the writer makes a better point when he says, "Most MLAs own crores of rupees. All of them should seek housing loans like ordinary people.”
Gyanasekaran makes his relevant point by commenting, “It is not as though we are asking the land for free... We will pay at the rate fixed by the Housing Board." Sensing opportunity, the Communist parties have been joined by the Bharatiya Janata Party in opposing the move. The vice-president of BJP’s state unit says this is setting a dangerous precedent. “Other things apart, it will also push up real estate prices in the locality,” he fears. Some critics point out that many of the flats in the MLA hostel are occupied by their relatives.
It is true that MLAs recently got their salary raised to Rs 50,000 per month after putting in a request through the relevant chambers. Coming at close heels of this raise, the 'housing' request was surely expected to raise a few hackles. But the noise level the issue has reached has surprised even the CM.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
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