MCC receives 10,000 applications from economically weaker sections seeking houses: Mayor

MCC receives 10,000 applications from economically weaker sections seeking houses: Mayor

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, January 31, 2025: Mayor Manoj Kumar said on Thursday that Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has received 10,000 applications from economically weaker sections seeking houses.

He was responding to the Opposition Congress members in the monthly meeting of the council opposing the decision of the council to acquire 3.42 acres of private vacant land at Shaktinagar (Padavu village) by offering TDR to the land owner.

The Mayor said that the land is required to build affordable houses for the lower income group people. The corporation has got only 20 acres and that is not enough to build houses for all the present and future applicants, he said.

The Congress members led by Anil Kumar, Leader of the Opposition in the council, stormed to the Well of the House opposing the decision of the council. They said that the land in question is not suitable to build houses as it is in a slope area. No housing project can be taken up on that land, they said.

The Mayor said that the land proposed to be acquired is close to residential areas. It has road connectivity. The road adjacent to the land is presently seven-metres-wide and Master Plan II for Mangaluru Local Planning Area, prepared by Mangaluru Urban Development Authority, has proposed to widen the road to 12 metres wide. In addition, the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) of the Master Plan II has reserved the proposed land for housing purpose.

Hence, the Mayor said that the council will not backtrack from its decision.

H.R. Shankar, Joint Director, Town Planning Section, told the council that though the land is in a slope area its central portion has level area. Hence housing project can be taken up on the same land.

The Congress councillor A.C. Vinayraj maintained that the corporation has totally 30 acres in its possession. In that 10 acres are each in Pachchanady, Bondel, and Shakthingar. Hence there is no need for the corporation to acquire 3.42 acres of land which is unfit for a housing project.

“The corporation is indulging in TDR scam,” he alleged adding that earlier the ruling BJP itself was not in favour of acquiring the same land for the housing project. Now its stand has been changed all of a sudden. Mr. Vinayraj questioned the motive for the sudden shift in the stand of the ruling BJP.

Refuting it the Mayor said that 10 acres land in Pachchanady is meant for solid waste management (for processing waste) and no housing project will be taken up there. Thus the corporation has got only 20 acres, he said.