Out of the Rs 27 lakh collected in the Mayor's Fund during the tenure of Ratilal Desai as Mayor, around June 1998, utility kits and other items worth about Rs 9 lakh were distributed to cyclone-affected families. The contributions came from the man in the street and small hotel owners.

Along with the Rs 27 lakh, the Rs 16 lakh donated by civic employees, who contributed a day's salary each, has not reached the cyclone victims. Present Mayor Bharati Vyas and Desai say that for the cyclone affected there is an ``adequate stock'' of funds. In case the employees' share was to be used, it would have gone to the chief minister's fund.

Desai first told Express Newsline that VMC did not give the money as the Collector of Kutch district said enough money had been gathered. But a civic official, who had been to Kandla, said they were told this by taluka and municipality level leaders and a BJP worker.

``There was no point in giving them the cheque when they'd already got such overwhelming response from the rest of the state,'' Vyas said.

Vyas, however, stated that a final decision on how the amount could be used would be taken after taking the opposition leaders into confidence.

She further said that at a meeting held recently, senior party councillors, including Desai, and a few officers thought of utilising the amount for relief work should local calamities happen. ``After all this amount was meant for calamities,'' she added.

She specified that VMC was also trying get Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel to give away merit certificates to school children who helped in fund-raising.

At least on two occasions, the chief minister could not make it for some reasons, the Mayor said, adding that the VMC would continue its efforts to seek the CM's time to felicitate school children.

On the share of the VMC employees, the Mayor suggested that even the administrative wing could decide on the lines of what the elected wing is trying to decide.