The resignation of 28-year-old R.Suganya, as Chief Executive Officer of Coimbatore Smart Cities Limited (CSCL), has come as a huge relief to Coimbatoreans, who have cried foul over the lack of transparency and cronyism practiced in the appointment to a top managerial position such as CEO for Coimbatore Smart Cities Limited (CSCL).
The lack of transparency in the CEO appointment indeed caused a lot of heart ache not only for the citizens of the textile city but also it went on to question the "back -door entry" of an underqualified candidate who is also the daughter of Ex AIDMK MLA to a high profile post like CEO.
Even as some call the resignation of the incumbent as people’s victory, others decry the lack of awareness among the common man, which led to the appointment in the first place.
Simplicity spoke to cross section of city personalities, including a leading politician, who took up the people's cause and fought valiantly till the arbitray appointment was struck down.
Vanathi Srinivasan, BJP State General Secretary, who spearheaded a campaign for the ouster of underqualified person occupying the chair of CEO and also demanded resignation of Corporation Commissioner Dr K. Vijayakarthikeyan who is also the Managing Director of CSCL said "This is a victory for all the sections of Coimbatoreans in general".
"As a BJP politician and a city denizen, I have made a formal complaint to Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Urban Development Minister and also the Party High command about the irregularities committed in the appointment of CEO for the CSCL, which is Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and solely created for the effective implementation of multi- crore Smart cities Project" as quoted by Vanathi Srinivasan.
The dilution of eligibility criteria to 3 years from the original 15 years for CEO appointment, she said cronyism is rampant in Dravidian politics and this may be repeated in the other cities in Tamil Nadu which have been selected under the Smart cities Project.
“Let me also thank civil society people, activists, who unitedly supported the cause and scored victory in the end. And, also thank the state government for respecting the sentiments of the people” Vanathi Srinivasan added.
Social activist and an active member of NGO Siruthuli, CGS Manion stated "This CEO profile demands lot of man -management and decision-making skills. The City Corporation has blundered in selecting a young inexperienced person for the job profile."
He also commented that "The person who is appointed as CEO should be able to command, respect, take vital decisions, and rein in contractors to meet the dead lines. As delays would ultimately lead to cost escalation. A young person like Sukanya doesn’t fit the bill at all", Manion said.
As to the city corporation is citing lack of qualified candidates for selecting a novice for the top post, Manion pointed out that in a highly connected world we live in, it is quite easy to get eligible candidate through NGOs and wider advertisements in well-circulated newspapers.
"I wonder whether a city like Coimbatore with over 20 lakh population has none to meet the eligible criteria of 15 years of experience with 5 years in urban governance.”
C. Saravanan, an IT professional and Founder of Canopy Nature Academy said that “The city corporation should come out with a white paper and prove its efficacy in finding the right candidates for the right position. The blunder it had committed should not be repeated if civic body is to win back the confidence of the city denizens".
Ashok Srinithi, a PMK functionary who initiated an online campaign in change.org and garnered thousands of signatures demanding the ouster of the incumbent said that it is people’s victory and if people are vigilant and ready to fight for the right social causes, it will always end in success, as in this case. Ashok Srinithi's video alleging irregularities in appointment of CEO went viral in social media like Facebook, youtube and whatsapp which indeed kindled the common man to raise voice for his city.