MLC D’Souza demands Christian committee to be upgraded

MLC D’Souza demands Christian committee to be upgraded

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Mar 3, 2017: Addressing media State government’s chief whip in Legislative Council, MLC Ivan D’Souza said that the Christian Development Council has spent crores of rupees on repair works of churches, community halls, orphanages and old age homes in Dakshina Kannada.

 MLC, D’Souza, who is also the vice chairman of the council, said that during the ongoing year, Rs 3.95 crore has been spent on repairing 15 churches, against Rs 2.57 crore for 11 churches during 2015-16 and Rs 4.60 crore for 20 churches in 2014-15. Similarly, Rs 2.49 crore has been spent on community halls and Rs 60.89 lakh on two orphanages during the current fiscal.

He added that the demand for increasing the budgetary allocation to the committee from existing Rs 125 crore to Rs 300 crore for the forthcoming financial year of 2017-18, besides upgrading the committee to the status of board on the lines of christian finance corporation in Andhra Pradesh.

MLC D’Souza said it is imperative to form a separate board, as in the existing scenario the committee is not vested with autonomous powers to plan the programmes and spend the funds. The funds allocated are spent through the Department of Minorities Welfare and the corporation, he said.

The population of Christian community is over 30 lakh, constituting 1.8% of the overall population of the state, he said.  The other demands include setting up of training, employment and placement institutes in four regional divisions to train civil service and banking examination aspirants, financial aid for taking holy land tour to Jerusalem on the lines of Andhra Pradesh, working hostels at divisional levels, Krista Bhavans in Mangaluru, Bengaluru, Kolar, Kalaburagi, Belagavi, Bidar and Uttara Kannada districts and improvement in basic amenities at Christian colonies in Karnataka.