The Hindu        31.10.2014

 Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation to focus on increasing internal resources

Mayor Shivu Hiremath presiding over the monthly general body meeting of the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation in Hubli Thursday.— Photo: Kiran Bakale

Delay in release of funds for development works by the State government seems to have forced the Hubli- Dharwad Municipal Corporation to deliberate on increasing its internal resources and a special council meeting has been proposed on the issue.

After Congress councillor Ganesh Tagargunti moved a calling attention motion on the revenue losses and non-availability of funds for development works, and a heated discussion, Mayor Shivu Hiremath said the special council meeting would be convened on November 11.

The Mayor asked the officials of revenue, health and town planning departments to come out with specific plans pertaining to their departments on increasing internal resources. In addition, issues such as lapses in generating revenue, increasing revenue collection through steps such as bringing in revised tariffs in awarding trade licences, and stringent steps on defaulters would be deliberated, he said.

Earlier, elaborating on the issue, Mr. Tagargunti blamed official apathy for the dwindling internal resources of the municipal corporation. He pointed out that while roughly over 30,000 shops and commercial establishments operated in the twin cities, the officials had issued only 22,000 trade licences. While the corporation was supposed to generate Rs. 1 crore through trade licences, it was collecting only Rs. 30 lakh, he said.

Mr. Tagargunti pointed out that irrespective of the trade, the area of the office/shop premises and the commodities or services they were dealing with, trade licence holders were paying the same fee. He stressed the need for collecting fee depending on the business and the area being used for the purpose.

The former Mayor Viranna Savadi referred to the issue of around 3,000 corporation properties in the twin cities that were leased out and whose lease term had ended in 2003. Councillors blamed officials for the poor rate of revenue collection and said that through property tax, stallage and trade licence fees, and property leases, the corporation could generate around Rs. 60 crore to Rs. 70 crore.

Chaos

The discussion on the issue earlier resulted in chaos after Mr. Viranna Savadi referred to the statement of the district-in-charge Minister on the release of funds and said that no fund had been released to the municipal corporation till date. The former Mayor Prakash Kyarakatti and others took strong exception to it. Both BJP and Congress councillors engaged in a verbal duel resulting in chaos. After restoring order, the Mayor said Rs. 60 crore to Rs. 70 crore was required for road repair in Hubli and Dharwad and the funds had not been released yet. Mr. Hiremath said he would again request the government to release it.

The Hindu      30.10.2014 

Corporation council declines to form ward committees

Defying a recent directive of the Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake, the Mangalore City Corporation council, in its monthly meeting on Wednesday, declined to constitute ward committees in the city. Instead it resolved to constitute a three-member House committee to study the pros and cons of constituting them.

The city corporation will have to constitute ward committees under the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Act, 2011. The Lok Adalat, on January 4, 2014, had also directed the corporation to take steps to constitute the committees.

Mr. Sorake, in a meeting on October 7, had directed the corporation to form ward committees within a month and alsoto form citizens’ forums, deliberation committees and ward sabhas.

He added that the State government had sent a circular to city corporations to form ward committees and some of them had already taken steps to this effect.

At the council’s meeting on Wednesday, the Mayor Mahabala Marla said that the three-member committee, headed by senior councillor Lancelot Pinto, will study the proposal and then the council will decide.

According to the Act, the councillor of each ward will head the 11-member ward committee and it should meet every month.

The council approved a proposal to give the corporation some “police powers” on the lines of the powers enjoyed by urban local bodies in Europe. The Mayor said the government would have to amend the Act for this to become a reality.

The council took the decision as the Directorate of Municipal Administration had sought the consent of all city corporation councils to a proposal to amend the Act.