Minister terms CMCs 'Naraka Sabhas'

Addressing the sixth annual meeting of the City Managers’ Association of Karnataka (CMAK), elected representatives and officers of different municipal bodies from across Karnataka needed to be proactive and innovative in order to make the State numero uno in the country in terms of civic amenities, he told the conference at the J N Tata Auditorium in the Indian Institute of Science.

The Minister said the city administration had become more and more complex with environment, cleanliness, hygiene and underground drains becoming more important. The challenge before the representatives and the officials of the municipal bodies is the best practices and the need for experts in different field.

He cited the instance of Dr M C Sindur of Hubli who got a stretch of 600 metres of the road in his area insured and plans to get the street lights insured. “Getting roads and street lights insured is no less an invention. We need such dedication,” said the Minister.

Arvind Srivastava the managing director of Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) said city management has now become multi-dimensional affair with sewerage, parks, environment, energy efficiency and information technology playing a major role. He said cities now need specialised engineers and municipal commissioners too have to understand accounts.

Secretary, Urban Development, Shambhu Dayal Meena said the state government has spent Rs 1,450 crore on the municipalities in the last two years and is willing to spend more money.

Anjum Parvez, Director, Municipal Administration said five cities of Karnataka figured in the 25 best cities of India under the National Urban Sanitation Policy including Mysore, which ranked second after Chandigarh. The chairpersons and commissioners of the cities were presented bouquets for upgrading the cities.