Southern States - Karnataka   

Minister assures grants to MCC

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE DEC. 8 . The Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) has received positive assurance from the Minister for Urban Development, D.K. Shivakumar, on the release of grants — withheld to it for not implementing the self-assessment scheme of property tax — the Mayor, M. Shashidhar Hegde, has said.

The Government held back Rs. 86 lakh monthly grant to the MCC on this count last month.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Mr. Hegde said he took the matter with the ministry during a recent visit to Bangalore.

While the MCC was ready to implement the SAS, it had sought the clarification from the Government over the definition of vacant land.

The scheme would be implemented on its receipt.

The issue figured at the last general meeting of the body, where members expressed their ire over the reported arm-twisting tactics of the Government to implement SAS here.

They noted that the Government could not stop grants to the body as it was assured to them following the move to abolish octroi in the State, which was disbursed to the urban civic bodies.

On the appeal by the NGOs Task Forum to the citizens here to superscribe on the tax challan their protest, the Commissioner, J.R. Lobo, said it was irrelevant.

The MCC had clarified that the difference would be collected or repaid to people in any case.

The MCC was not empowered to collect taxes under the old system with introduction of the law permitting SAS.

However, it had gone ahead in doing so on the premise that the Government and the Department of Municipal Administration would provide the clarification to its queries on the scheme, he said and expressed confidence that the same would be clarified soon.

On the implementation of Asian Development Bank-aided development projects in the city, Mr. Lobo said tenders for the Rs. 306-crore project would be formalised by the end of March.

This was necessary as the money allotted would lapse otherwise, he said and noted that work would be taken up in densely populated areas of the city and Suratkal.

Noting that the ADB loan was not extended on conditionality of implementing SAS, Mr. Lobo, however, clarified that the MCC had decided to request the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation to carry out a study of its financial management.

Means would be worked out to repay the loan without imposing burden on the people in the form of additional taxes, he said.

Emphasis would be laid on improving water supply and underground drainage systems as part of the project, he said and added that challenge was more in long-term maintenance of assets that MCC would create in the process.

The MCC had decided to seek the services of people at the managerial level to ensure optimum utilisation of these assets, he said.

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