Rift between councillors, staff at Muvattupuzha municipality impacts governance

Kochi: Tensions have intensified in Muvattupuzha municipality as differences between staff members and ruling councillors escalated, with councillors protesting what they termed as arbitrary actions by chairperson Joice Mary Antony.Antony, however, alleged that the protest was triggered by a resolution passed by UDF councillors against municipal secretary.Staff members claimed that municipal secretary faced threats from chairperson and that ruling councillors, led by Antony, created a difficult working environment. A councillor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said staff members were often targeted when they pointed out violations of municipal rules."I have worked in many municipalities, but here ruling councillors issue unnecessary threats. When officials correct leadership on rules, they risk becoming unfavourable to the councillors," said a staff member of the municipality.Responding to the allegations, Antony told TOI that secretary took decisions independently without informing the council and allegedly misbehaved with an elderly person. She said this, along with other reasons, led to a resolution seeking secretary's removal."It was staff affiliated with left unions who initiated the protest at municipal office. Agenda to remove secretary will be placed again in the next council meeting," Antony said.Municipal secretary Simi H denied the allegations, stating that the chairperson lacked clarity on municipal council procedures. She also confirmed that she wrote to govt requesting a transfer to another local body.Simi said the elderly person mentioned was asked to leave the office after allegedly attempting to physically attack her. Addressing another allegation, she clarified that agenda items cannot be forwarded with modifications through K-SMART app, which only allows approval or rejection — an issue she said contributed to the dispute.