Opposition councilors in the council meeting held on Monday questioned the Municipal Corporation’s decision to hand over the responsibility of running the mini crematorium in Thycaud to a cooperative society, which had defaulted in payment of the auction amount.
Deputy Mayor PK Raju said that action will be taken to recover the outstanding amount from the society. He said the civic body would also consider running the facility directly from next year.
The Travancore Electrical and Civil Labor Contract Society was given the contract to run the firewood-powered mini crematorium for 2022-23 at the rate of ₹11.28 lakh. However, the society did not pay the second and third installments totaling Rs 7.52 lakh. It had also expressed its desire to terminate the contract citing low number of cremations and shortage of firewood. After this, the corporation had decided to re-auction with the society bearing the expenses. But, only one private person answered the call, offering ₹1.15 lakh for the remaining tender period.
However, the society came back into the picture, expressing its desire to continue with the facility. The mayor approved the continuation of the society based on this request. The opposition councilors also alleged that the Left-controlled society was wrongly entrusted with the responsibility of running the mini crematorium.