MUDA merges with MCC

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Dec 2: According to the latest urban development policy of the government, all urban development authorities in Karnataka will merge with their closest civic body; so, Mangalore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) will merge with the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC). Mayor Shankar Bhatt informed press people that the merger will become functional from the month of January. 

Suresh Kumar, the state minister for urban development, said that the purpose of the merger was to make things easier for people. Now, they can just approach only the MCC for their building construction requirements. Two meetings, one at Bangalore on Dec 3 and the other at Mysore on Dec 6, have been arranged to discuss issues related to the merger.

Dr. Vijayaprakash, the commissioner of MCC, said that MCC performs certain functions independently, but does a lot of work in collaboration with the MUDA. The merger will result in a new work culture, which will be characterized by transparency and lack of corruption. Besides, it will also enable the civic body to increase the strength of the workforce and earn additional revenue. Administrative costs will also be cut down drastically. 

But Mr. Hanumanth Kamath, the convener of Nagarika Hitharakshana Vedike, fears that the merger will increase the power of the MCC to harass the people. MCC officials can now start minting money at the expense of the people, he said. 

The government’s Cadre and Recruitment Rules, which the Urban Development Ministry plans to implement in civic bodies, might make this impossible because these rules give the government the power to transfer civic officials.