Belagavi mayor criticized for skipping first SPV meet

Belagavi: Belagavi mayor Sarita Patil who was under attack for participating in the Black Day rally organised by the MES on November 1, skipped the first meeting of the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up for the implementation of Smart City project held in Bengaluru on Monday.
The mayor’s move has come in for a sharp criticism. Monday’s meeting was held after it was postponed thrice due to various reasons.
The SPV has eight directors including the mayor and Belagavi City Corporation commissioner Shashidhar Kurer.The BCC commissioner along with SPV CEO Mullai Muhilan and nodal officer A S Kamble participated in the meeting.
Councilor Deepak Jamkhandi from the Opposition group in the Council alleged that the mayor has been bringing bad name to the BCC. “As a representative of the people of Belagavi, this was an opportunity for her to present the views of the people about the project and make suggestion keeping the city’s interest in mind,’’ he added.
Patil defended her decision stating that her presence was not essential. “The meeting was arranged just to get the feedback on the Smart City proposal as senior IAS officer Rakesh Singh has taken over as the director of the project very recently. I will attend the second meeting which is important and to be held shortly,’’ she added.