Councillors protest against drinking water privatisation in Salem Corporation council
Councillors in the Salem Corporation staged a protest against the state government's decision to privatize drinking water distribution. The protest forced a disruption of council proceedings until officials promised to forward the council's opposition to the state government.
Why it matters
It reflects the ongoing tension between local elected bodies and state-level administrative decisions regarding the privatization of essential public utilities.
Proceedings of the Corporation council meeting on Wednesday (July 29, 2026) were disrupted after councillors across party lines staged a protest against the State government’s decision to entrust drinking water distribution in the city to a private company.
Councillors, while raising civic issues affecting their wards, strongly opposed the move and recalled that the council had earlier unanimously adopted a resolution urging the government to drop the proposal. They alleged that despite the resolution, the government had gone ahead with the decision. The members demanded an explanation from Mayor A. Ramachandran and Corporation Commissioner Lalitaditya Neelam, leading to heated exchanges. . They also questioned the respective powers of the Mayor and the Commissioner in implementing resolutions adopted by the elected body.
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