Plea seeks deputy mayor of Madurai corpn to discharge mayoral duties

Madurai: Madras high court on Friday sought a response from the state and Madurai corporation on a plea seeking a direction to the deputy mayor of the corporation to assume the post and discharge the functions of the mayor, till a new mayor is appointed.A division bench of justice G Jayachandran and justice N Senthilkumar was hearing a public interest litigation filed by P Manikandan.The petitioner stated that the mayor of Madurai corporation, Indrani Ponvasanth, tendered her resignation citing personal reasons in Oct 2025. As per the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, the deputy mayor should assume charge and discharge the functions of the mayor.So far, the deputy mayor of Madurai corporation did not discharge the functions of the mayor. This affected the administration of the corporation. He stated that garbage was piled up in several areas in the city. The roads in several places were in a bad condition. There were potholes on the roads in several places in the city. Residents faced difficulties due to the piled-up garbage and the bad condition of the roads.The petitioner stated that he was a resident of Mathichiyam. He made complaints about bad road conditions and garbage piled up in his locality to the councillor. The councillor assured him that he would raise the grievances during the monthly council meeting of the corporation. However, the monthly council meeting was not conducted after the mayor's resignation. Due to this, the grievances of the people were not addressed.He stated that he submitted a representation seeking the deputy mayor to discharge the functions of the mayor. However, no steps were taken. Hence, the petitioner moved court.