Mayor’s demand for generator at camp office sparks controversy

Hyderabad: Mayor G Vijaya Laxmi was caught in another controversy on Friday after she wrote to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar requesting him to sanction a generator for her camp office that is located inside her residence. In the letter, the mayor complained about frequent power outages at her camp office, however, she did not mention the location, which created a controversy. “It is to inform that due to frequent power cuts, the work at my camp office is being hampered and this is causing inconvenience in day-to-day work,” read the letter written to the GHMC commissioner. She also requested the commissioner for a 25 KV generator. However, activists said that it was wrong for the mayor to get a generator installed at her residence with taxpayers’ money. “When the GHMC is in financial crisis, what is the need to seek a generator from taxpayers’ money,” said Harish Daga, an activist. Meanwhile, the mayor said that the road near her house was dug up to lay power lines and that she wants a generator to be installed only temporarily. “I have only requested the GHMC commissioner to sanction a generator temporarily so that there are no hurdles in work. I never said there are power outages in the city,” read a statement issued by the mayor’s office. Vijaya Laxmi also alleged that Hyderabad scored low in the Ease of Living Index released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) due to political vendetta.