District-in-charge Minister V Sunil Kumar observed that there is a lack of coordination between various agencies engaged in development works in Mangaluru, resulting in a haphazard implementation of projects causing inconvenience to the public.
“To sort out the lack of coordination among agencies, a meeting of the state-level officials of KUIDFC, GAIL Gas Ltd, Mangaluru Smart City Limited and Mangaluru City Corporation will be held on June 23 and 24. Further, the progress of the works initiated in the city by various agencies will be reviewed,” he said, speaking after reviewing works in the city.
This is highlighted in the repeated digging up of concrete roads by various agencies, including GAIL, for the supply of piped natural gas and KUIDFC, which aimed at supplying 24x7 water supply to the city. The coordination meeting will help expedite ongoing works in the city.
Directions will be given to implementing projects blockwise instead of together at a time in all wards, the minister said. The action plan for the works prepared under the available funds of the 15th Finance Commission and Mahatma Gandhi Vikas Yojana should be taken up on a blockwise basis, he added. “I have directed officials to ensure that after completing the work in one block, the work in another block should be taken up. This will also ensure that traffic is not affected during the ongoing work and the public do not face inconvenience,” he said.
Monsoon preparedness
“As monsoon is gaining pace, I have directed officials to ensure that artificial floods are not created on the roads in the city. Steps should be taken to ensure that rainwater flows into the stormwater drains and not on the roads,” he said.
The Minister said that the work on Kadri, Kankanady and Surathkal markets will be accelerated and the first phase of the work will be completed by December. The tender process for the Surathkal market should be completed by month-end. The work on developing the crematorium at Surathkal has been taken up and will be completed by November. A new electric crematorium will be installed at Surathkal Crematory Ground. Provision will be made for two furnaces in the crematory ground.
Sunil said steps should be taken to improve the revenue collections by the civic body. The work on the construction of houses for the beneficiaries are in progress at Idya in Surathkal. “I have directed the MLA to ensure that the work is completed at the earliest.”
MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar said that Urwa market will be taken over by the Mangaluru City Corporation from MUDA and the council of the corporation has adopted a resolution in this regard. The proposal is before the government for approval.