Amid sharp criticism from Left party leaders, as many as 82 corporators, including 42 women, from the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) left on a study tour on Tuesday.

A team of GVMC officials also accompanied the corporators. As part of the tour, they will visit municipal corporations in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Delhi to study administrative models and best practices, before returning on September 24.

The itinerary also includes visits to Ajmer, Pushkar, and a few other places. The GVMC council had approved the tour during a recent meeting, allocating a budget of over ₹1.5 crore.

This marks the fourth consecutive year of such study tours. In 2024, the corporators visited Coimbatore, Mysuru, and Bengaluru. In 2023, they toured Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir, while in 2022, they travelled to Delhi, Shimla, Manali, Chandigarh, and Agra.

However, some corporators have questioned the need for these tours and raised doubts about their impact on the city’s administration. Jana Sena Party (JSP) corporator from Ward 22, P.L.V.N. Murthy, and CPI(M) corporator from Ward 78, B. Ganga Rao, have opted out of the tour. They argued that the funds could be better utilised for development works in their respective wards.