4 handpicked men of CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy forced to quit as chiefs of Smart City Corporations

Vijayawada: Four handpicked men of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy have been forced to resign from their positions as chairmen of the Smart City Corporations.

The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has made them quit as their appointments were not in tune with the Rule Book. The posts could only be held by the government officials, it is learnt.

The YSRCP leaders - G Venkateshwar Rao of Greater Visakhapatnam Smart City Corporation, Alli Raja Babu Yadav of Kakinada Smart City Corporation, Boddani Akhila of Eluru and N Padmaja of Tirupati, were forced to resign from their posts, following a direction from the Centre, it is learnt.

In the letter, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Sabak Lal Prasad said that the appointment of persons other than those stipulated in the guidelines was in violation of the guidelines.

The Central government, which funds these smart cities, has found fault with their appointments, which are in violation of the guidelines. Since it might lead to legal complications, the State government decided to cancel these appointments. The Centre has also asked the government to follow the guidelines while making such appointments.

Accordingly, all of them have been asked to step down and their resignations have been accepted immediately, official sources said.

Reports suggested that the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Mission Smart city Division recently wrote to the state Chief Secretary, raising objections over the political appointments to the Smart City Corporations.

The Ministry stated that the posts should be given to only Divisional Commissioner, the Collector, the Municipal Commissioner and the Chief Executive of Urban Development Authority as decided by the State government.