The Hindu              01.11.2013

Three Udupi towns get Rs. 85 cr. more for drainage, water projects

Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake said on Thursday that an additional grant of Rs. 85 crore has been provided for improvement of underground drainage and water supply in the three towns of Udupi district under the Karnataka Integrated Urban Water Management Programme (KIUWMP).

He was chairing a review meeting at the Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) here.

Mr. Sorake said that of the Rs. 85 crore, Rs. 50 crore would be spent on improving the underground drainage system of Udupi, Kundapur and Karkala, while the remaining amount of Rs. 35 crore would be spent on improving water supply in these three towns.

Councillors’ cooperation

The plans for urban development in the State had been formulated keeping in view the needs of the next three decades under the Vision 2040 programme.

Priority had been given for the integrated development of Udupi city.

He sought the cooperation of all councillors of Udupi CMC for the development of the city. “Councillors should not think only about the development of their wards, but the entire city,” he said.

Housing scheme

The Minister said that officials should give importance to housing scheme. They should reach 100 per cent target in the implementation of the Vajpayee Vasati Yojana. “If the officers failed to take this task seriously, they will be held responsible for it,” he said.

Mr. Sorake said that priority should be given to maintenance of cleanliness in Udupi as it was a major pilgrim centre.

He would shortly visit the city along with the officials to have a first-hand understanding of the problems. He would also visit the solid waste management plant to study issues connected to garbage disposal.

When the municipal councillors drew Mr. Sorake’s attention to various developmental projects and facilities provided to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, he told them to discuss the issues in the CMC meetings and send proposals to him.

Mr. Sorake said that he would hold a review meeting once in three months. Officials should direct builders constructing big buildings to provide proper basic facilities to their workers in the city, he said.

Paryaya festival

When Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, sought Rs. 10 crore for improving facilities in Udupi for the Paryaya festival scheduled on January 18, 2014, Mr. Sorake said that he would discuss this issue with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

When Mr. Madhwaraj drew Mr. Sorake attention on widening of roads in Parkala and Malpe, the Minister directed the CMC Commissioner Srikanth Rao to personally review these projects.

P. Yuvaraj, president of CMC, Amrita Krishnamurthy, Vice President, and M.T. Reju, Deputy Commissioner, were present.