JOIN US‘Revise tax; impose fee for mobile towers; scrap parking fee at malls’
Civic society members came up with a sea of suggestions to be adopted as policy and programme in the Mangalore City Corporation’s budget, in a pre-budget meeting with the general public organised at Mangala hall in the Corporation on Friday.
Giving a few suggestions, Nagarika Hitharakshana Vedike President Hanumanth Kamath asked the Administrator to revise and increase the property tax as per the guidelines prescribed in Karnataka Municipal Act.
“The tax will not be hiked once the council comes to power, for political reasons. With the Administrator now having the power to revise the tax, the opportunity should be used to revise the tax and generate additional revenue. How will developmental works take place in Mangalore, without enough revenue generation?” he asked.
Taking a dig at the way a few advertisement agencies controlling the ad sector in MCC, Kamath demanded that bidding for ad agencies should be held every year. If the Corporation is now generating Rs one crore ad revenue per year, it would increase to Rs five crore, if bidding is done every year. He also insisted the MCC to impose annual fee for mobile towers.
Entrepreneur Sumith Rao suggested the MCC to introduce parking metres, so that parking fee could be imposed on vehicle owners on hourly basis. He also questioned the shopping malls for collecting parking fee in the basement, even though they are liable to provide parking space. This system has to be scrapped, and parking fee should be collected in public places, he said.
Mangalorean N P Shenoy insisted the MCC to ensure that self assessment tax is promptly collected from vacant land holders. With the MCC having a large portion of people owning vacant land, it is a good source of revenue, he said.
Suggestions on opening a single window system for all revenue related matters, construction of public toilets on public-private partnership model, development of sports stadium at Bondel, formation of ward committees were raised in the meeting.
100 locations for toilets
Reacting to the suggestions, Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim who is also the Administrator of the MCC, assured of incorporating some of the suggestions in the 2014-15 budget. About 100 locations have been identified for constructing toilets, of which we intend to build at least 20 toilets this year. Rs one crore will be reserved in the budget for laying scientific humps.
Various points have been identified for the construction of sky walk, of which the first one will be built on M G Road, between Besant and Canara college, he said.
Civic society members can give their suggestions on the proposed budget during the next 10 days. Mangalore City Corporation Commissioner Ajith Kumar Hegde, Joint Commissioner Gokuldas Nayak and others were present.