MUDA turned into ATM for Congress government, alleges Vedavyasa Kamath
Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) has turned into an ATM for the ruling Congress government, said Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyasa Kamath here on Monday.
Speaking at a protest organised by the BJP against the 'anti-people' policies of the Congress, the MLA claimed that the MUDA's decision-making powers have been hijacked, and decisions are being made on its behalf in Bengaluru.
The MLA also alleged that the Mangaluru Tahsildar's office has become a den of corruption. Calling the Congress government a 'dacoity government', the MLA stated that it has increased the fee for birth and death certificates from ₹5 to ₹50. The stamp duties in different categories have been hiked from ₹20 to ₹100, from ₹50 to ₹500 and from ₹100 to ₹1,000, he said.
Mr. Kamath said that the government has made obtaining an e-khata in urban areas a complex and mandatory procedure, done hastily without assessing its pros and cons. Hence, many people are facing difficulties in getting it.
The MLA alleged that the government has not released old age pension to the deserved since three months.
Criticising the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) for delay in commencing the dredging of 'raja kaluves' and other storm-water drains, he said the civic body should have completed the exercise before the rains started. But the MCC took action only in May, which resulted in artificial floods in the city when the rains began in the last week of May.
The MLA alleged that the government is not allowing Above Poverty Line (APL) families to apply for APL cards. It has been proposed to cancel some Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards as the government has no money to procure rice and distribute it to the BPL families.
Mr. Kamath claimed that the government has not released State Finance Commission grants to the MCC for the past two years. Urban Development Minister B.S. Suresha, when he visited Mangaluru, had promised to release ₹25 crore and ₹75 crore to the MCC as special grants. The MCC is still waiting for the funds, he said.
BJP Dakshina Kannada wing's president Satish Kumpala, and, general secretary and former Mayor Premananda Shetty also spoke.
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