After the public have started to bombard the social media questioning and disagreeing with the officials of the Smart city Project for appointing R. Sukanya, daughter of Ex MLA of AIADMK KP Raju as the CEO of the 1000 crore Smart City Project, the officials from the Smart City Project have released a 5-page statement clarifying the dubiousness raised by the people.
A summary of the five-page statement received from the City Corporation not only justifies the appointment of the CEO for Smart City Ltd., Coimbatore, but also clarifies the doubts raised by the citizens who have been questioning the appointment process and it's transparency.
Here's the Summary of the statement:
The report surmises that R. Sukanya was the only applicant who met with the all the eligibility criteria put-forth and that no partiality has been shown in appointing her as the CEO of Smart City Coimbatore.
Further, when it was decided to appoint a CEO for the Smart City, the selection committee after consulting with the Planning and Management Committee fixed the criteria for the CEO Candidate as 15 years of work experience. on 15th March, 2017, state-wide advertisements inviting applications from eligible candidates were given in publications - Dinamani, Makkal Kural, Trinity Mirror and New Indian Express.
As a result, 28 applications were received and all the applicants were asked to appear for a personal interview on 29th May, 2017. Out of the 28, only 15 applicants presented themselves for the personal interview. Unfortunately, none of the 15 candidates did not possess enough experience i.e., 15 years and also did not fulfil the other eligibility criteria proposed by the Smart City Ltd.
Hence, 'left with no option', the committee decided to amend the eligibility criteria from 15 years to 3 years. On the 11th July, 2017 a new GO attesting the amendment was duly passed. Following which a fresh advertisement inviting applicants for the post of CEO with 3 years of work experience was released in the following publications - The New Indian Express, Dinamani, Dinathanthi and Deccan Chronicle. Responding to the advertisement, the Smart city Ltd Coimbatore received applications from 21 candidates. All the applicants were called in for a personal interview on 1st August, 2017.
Corporation Commissioner and Managing Director of Smart City Ltd, Dr.K. Vijayakarthikeyan, Deputy Corporation Commissioner and City Corporation Engineer formed the selection committee the for the CEO selection.
Among the 21 applicants, only R. Suganya, Wife of Yashwanth Kumar met all the eligibility criteria while rest of the candidates lacked the eligibility and skill set for taking up the post of CEO. R. Sukanya holds Masters in Human Resource Development and also has worked in a Corporate in the HRD department for more than 3 years.
Post the appointment, it is unfortunate that people have been spreading unwarranted information in social medias and allege that the process of appointment has been compromised. But to the contrary, 100% of the criteria and the set norms have been followed earnestly in appointment of Sukanya as the CEO.
Hence, undoubtedly her appointment has been done after fulfilling all set norms and we also believe that a young aspiring mind with a decent experience like Sukanya will be able to contribute largely to the project.
On the 11th of August, R. Sukanya was duly given the appointment order and she has been into service from the same date, the statement reads.
Clarifying the role of the CEO, the statement apprises that the CEO of the Smart City would just act as a facilitator between the Planning and Management Committee and the Managing Director of the Smart City Project. The CEO is not vested with any powers like approving bills or sole decision making, Moreover, the CEO will work under the supervision of the Managing Director of the project.
Finally, the five-page statement has affirmed that unwarranted information pertaining to the CEO appointment is hypothetical.