MCC suspends issue of temporary door numbers

Mangaluru City Corporation Commissioner Mohammed Nazeer has said that the issue of temporary door numbers under Section 112 (C) of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (KMC) Act has been temporarily suspended.

The Section 112 (C) of the KMC Act is being misused largely by people who build apartments, commercial complexes and houses.

Speaking at the MCC monthly meeting here on Monday, the commissioner said many have been found misusing the Section 112 (C). “Owners have been found to have constructed houses and buildings violating the floor area ratio (FAR), set back and zonal regulations in many cases. Under Section 112 (C), the people were given temporary door numbers by collecting double property tax. Buildings, for which the owners have not obtained completion certificate from the Corporation, are given temporary door numbers. There are 7,444 properties that pay double tax in the MCC jurisdiction,” the commissioner disclosed.

When Opposition member Sudheer Shetty demanded issue of temporary door numbers under Section 112 (C) to houses with less than 1,000 square-foot area, to help the poor in availing of water and electricity connection, Mayor Bhaskar Moily said that the MCC will issue temporary door numbers after inspecting the spot.

When the Councillors sought to know why a single site approval is demanded while applying for khata of a site, the commissioner said that as per the government direction, a single site is mandatory for issue of khata.

The mayor promised to hold talks with the minister for urban development.

Councillor Vinayaraj pointed out that there is no provision for UGD works in area-based development of the Smart City project. “In such a scenario, how will the MCC take up UGD works to replace the old lines with the new,” he asked.

Commissioner Nazeer said that all the UGD lines in the road to be developed under the Smart City project will be replaced. A sum of Rs 35 crore has been earmarked for the purpose, he added.

Opposition councillors Premananda Shetty and Roopa D Bangera said that, before approving of the drinking water project under Phase 2 of ADB-funded project, the officials should clarify the doubts of the members. The councillors have no knowledge as to where the new water supply pipelines will pass through in their ward, they complained.

Councillor Kavitha Sanil said the parking areas in commercial complexes are violated. “Even the court has issued an order in favour of the MCC. Why are the MCC officials delaying the process of issuing action against the defaulters,” she asked.

The officer said that a few of the technical issues in such buildings are being looked into.

When councillor Prakash Salian said that unscientific water bills are issued to consumers and water bills are not collected in all the banks, the mayor said that all the branches of Corporation Bank and Canara Bank collects water bills.

On Kadri market, the MCC commissioner said that tender has been invited for the work. On Mallikatte library, he said that the estimate is being prepared for the library.

What is Section 112 (C)?

The section 112 (C) of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, is a provision introduced for urban local bodies to decisively deal with building violations.

Section 112 (C) mandates local bodies to levy penalty on unlawful buildings and they are also allotted door numbers, which facilitates owners to obtain power and water connections.