The Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has been able to collect only 18 per cent of the Rs. 45 crore revenue expected from water bills for 2016-17, according to Mayor Harinath.
Stating this at a council meeting on Thursday, the mayor asked engineering section officials to pull up their socks and collect the dues. He said officials have been directed to identify the defaulters and collect all the dues within a month.
Earlier, A.C. Vinayaj, a councillor, drew the mayor’s attention to the need to augment revenue. He pointed out that the budget book for 2016-17 has mentioned that the civic body expects Rs. 75 lakh from new water supply connections.
When some councillors alleged that areas like Dambel were not getting drinking water daily, the mayor asked the engineers: “Why are you here? If you are not interested to work, quit.”
Replying to a question from Mr. Vinayraj, MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazir said there is no clarity on whether property tax could be collected from buildings under construction on vacant sites. Officially, tax can be collected from vacant sites and completed buildings. But as under-construction buildings fall in between the two categories, the government’s clarification will be sought on collecting property tax from them, he said.
Squat and protest
Holding placards, Poornima, councillor from Central Market ward, squat on the well of the House alleging that officials had failed to clear encroachments on footpaths in and around the market. She said parking areas there have been occupied by pushcart traders, who leave no space for pedestrians to walk and motorists to mark.
The Commissioner said the civic body has been clearing petty shops in Kottara, Kuloor, near the KSRTC bus stand at Bejai. Encroachments on footpaths in the Central Market area were cleared on Wednesday, he added.
The council gave approval for the construction of a dining hall attached to Town Hall at a cost of Rs. 89.73 lakh. It referred the proposal to name the road from Kapri Gudda Junction to B.V. Road after the late P.C.M. Kunhi, who was a professor.
