Four YSR Congress party leaders who were appointed as chairpersons of the four different Smart City Corporations in October last as part of filling up of nominated posts by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, have lost their jobs.
The YSRC 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.
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.
Accordingly, all of them have been asked to step down and their resignations have been accepted immediately, official sources said.
Sources said 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.
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 SCM guidelines is clear violation of the guidelines. He suggested that the State government follow the SCM guidelines.