Urban News

The Hindu 24.03.2010

‘Unified effort needed for overall development of Raichur city'

Staff Correspondent

Raichur: Deputy Commissioner V. Anbu Kumar said on Tuesday that local bodies, elected representatives and all government departments should work in unison to ensure development of the city.

He was speaking as a special guest at the general body meeting of the Raichur City Municipal Council (CMC).

City residents could not be provided better facilities as several roads, drains and government land had been encroached upon over the last several years. But, it was not the responsibility of the district administration alone to clear such encroachments, he said. Mr. Kumar said that the district administration decided to clear such structures as it found that encroachment of drains was one of the reasons for flooding in the city during October last.

A permanent solution need to be found to ensure such disasters did not recur, he said, and added that unified effort by all authorities concerned and people was needed to achieve overall development in the city.

The Deputy Commissioner said that the Raichur Development Authority and the Town Planning Department, which jointly conducted a survey in 1988, had formulated a comprehensive plan to improve basic facilities in the city. However, it was found that implementing the plan would affect the interests of a large section of business community. The district administration concluded that clearing encroachments would help not only prevent recurrence of flooding but also provide better facilities to residents.

Several social and public organisations and NGOs had urged the district administration to clear such encroachments. In the ongoing drive to clear encroachments, about two acres government land in and around Teen Khadi and Kati Darwaza areas had been recovered, he said.

Mr. Kumar announced that the district administration had plans to constitute a trust to protect the historical fort and other monuments in the city. He said that the city municipality had received Rs. 30 crore from the Chief Minister's special grant mainly to improve basic amenities in the city.

A. Mareppa, president of the CMC, and M. Eranna, former president, said that the CMC would support the district administration in ensuring overall development of the city.

The Hindu 24.03.2010

MUDA chairman clarifies absence

Special Correspondent

MYSORE: Deputy Commissioner and Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) chairman P. Manivannan has expressed surprise that no business was conducted at the budget meeting on Saturday, which was boycotted by elected representatives.

Local MLAs and MLCs, who are the members of the MUDA, walked out of the meeting upset over the Mr. Manivannan's absence.

Prior intimation

Mr. Manivannan said that it was a myth that he had deliberately not attended the meeting and expressed a wish to clear the air. Mr. Manivannan said that he had informed MUDA Commissioner P.C. Jayanna of the meeting in Bangalore three days prior to the budget meeting and sought his advice on the matter. He said that the Commissioner had maintained that it would be inappropriate to postpone the budget meeting and had cited two other occasions when the meeting had taken place in the Chairman's absence.

Mr. Manivannan said that he had directed Mr. Jayanna to ensure that in future MUDA meetings were fixed only after consulting all the members.

He also said that in the event of an unscheduled or important assignment forcing the Chairman to absent himself from the meeting, the Commissioner would invoke Section 8 (3) of the Karnataka Urban Development Authorities Act of 1987, and hold the meeting under the chairmanship of one of the members.