A six-hour board meeting of Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) on Friday saw heated exchange of words between mayor Asha Lakra and her deputy Sanjeev Vijayvargiya over outsourcing of hoarding rights to a private firm.

Mayor Lakra alleged Brite Neon Signs got the right to put up hoardings on 1,200 electricity poles in exchange of maintaining lights without proper scrutiny. Alleging deputy mayor Vijaywargiya and municipal commissioner Prashant Kumar had jointly perpetrated a scam of around Rs 5 crore, the mayor left the board meeting twice in the huff.

Denying any irregularity, Vijayvargiya said Brite Neon Signs had been getting hoarding rights since years, which were renewed in 2015-end during mayor Lakra's tenure. The mayor had not objected then, he argued, so why now. Only after her consent was the firm's name passed by the RMC board, he stressed.

When Lakra persisted in saying the existing contract should be scrapped, her deputy said she must give a valid reason and put forward a fresh proposal before the board.

No truce was reached. Mayor Lakra got little support from ward councillors.

The RMC board passed 42 proposals during the meeting, including hiring 100 marshals for law enforcement and regularising 200 mobile food vans.

Owners of mobile food vans will each pay RMC Rs 5,000 as annual registration fee. This apart, each will pay a monthly rental of Rs 5,000 if operating on prime roads and Rs 2,500 elsewhere. Small food thelas are exempted.

TAX DATE

RMC on Friday extended the last date to pay holding tax to March 31 acting on the instructions of urban development minister C.P. Singh