RK Nagar byelection: Chennai Corporation cites model code for not releasing budget documents

CHENNAI: Greater Chennai Corporation commissioner D Karthikeyan, who has been appointed as a special officer in the absence of a council, passed the budget for the city on March 14. However, the civic body hasn’t made the documents public citing the model code of conduct which is in force in the RK Nagar constituency where a byelection will be held on April 12.
The Satta Panchayat Iyakkam (SPI) on Monday wrote to chief election officer Rajesh Lakhoni asking if the reason for not revealing the budget documents was valid.
The SPI wanted to know if the Election Commission had instructed the Greater Chennai Corporation to withhold budget documents and if the civic body had sought a clarification.
“When the state budget has been released, we want to know why our city budget can’t be published since it has been passed,” SPI general secretary Senthil Arumugam told TOI. “This is not a secret document, and the public has the right to know about the funds allocated,” he said.
Special officer and commissioner D Karthikeyan told TOI that the corporation will seek clarification from the Election Commission of India regarding publicising the particulars of the budget document. "We need to clarify with the ECI regarding giving (budget details) to the press," he said. He added that the model code of conduct did not prevent the corporation from passing the budget.
Sources in the corporation said there was no major announcements in the budget and the focus was only on storm water drains which received more than Rs 1,000-crore allocation.