The New Indian Express 03.12.2009
Govt to send showcause notice to Belgaum corp
BANGALORE: The state government has decided to serve a showcause notice to Belgaum City Corporation for its alleged administrative lapses and also for not convening a general body meeting since July 2009.
Urban Development Minister Suresh Kumar told reporters that the nature of action to be taken against the corporation would be decided based on the reply to the notice.The Minister, who visited the Belgaum corporation recently, expressed displeasure over the affairs of the civic body and held the lack of coordination between officials and elected representatives as the reason for the problems. As a result, work under the Rs 100-crore special package announced by the Chief Minister had not started yet and the funds released under 12th Finance Commission were also lying unutilised, he said.
To add to the woes, the elected representatives have not met since July 2009. “They didn’t even offer a proper explanation for not convening the general body meeting,’’ Kumar said. According to the Karnataka Municipal Act, the government can supersede any urban local body which fails to convene a general body meeting for over six months.
Kumar said a team of officials from the urban development department will visit the corporation soon and review the progress. The team will also review the illegal construction activities in the city, he added.
