Newly elected Mayor Premananda Shetty said on Tuesday that the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has in its kitty ₹100 crore collected under premium floor area ratio (FAR) clause. The corporation has not been able to utilise the fund for various reasons. He said he would try to make best use of it for development projects.
Speaking at the council after being elected for the next one year term, the Mayor said the FAR fund got accumulated since 2009-10.
The civic body collected the fund from builders after the premium FAR clause was added in the Master Plan II for Mangaluru Local Planning Area, which came into effect from October, 2009. Under the premium FAR clause, a builder can pay a certain fee to the corporation and can add extra built-up area to a building as per the provisions mentioned under the zonal regulations of Master Plan II. The corporation should utilise this fund for development works as per specified guidelines.
Referring to constituting ward committees, the Mayor said its process had come to a stage now. The official machinery in the corporation will go ahead with further steps to be taken up for constituting the committees.
Mr. Shetty said the corporation will have to increase its own revenue. The civic body has already taken up a fresh survey of properties under its jurisdiction. The survey aimed at recording the properties to ensure that all paid the property tax under the self-assessment scheme without undervaluing the tax proposed to be given to the corporation.
Congratulating Mr. Shetty on being elected as Mayor, Mangaluru city south MLA D. Vedavyasa Kamath said projects worth ₹2,500 crore are being implemented in the city now under various schemes of the government, including ₹1,500 crore worth projects under the smart city mission. The Mayor has the onus of ensuring that all the projects are implemented effectively.
Mangaluru city north MLA Y. Bharat Shetty said the e-governance initiative mooted in the corporation should reach its logical end to help people. There are issues in managing the solid waste, which have to be addressed.
Naveen R. D’Souza, councillor, urged the Mayor to take up an initiative to ensure that the government build a flyover at Nanthoor junction. The Mayor should take up this matter with the Member of Parliament. If a flyover comes up at Nanthor many people in the city will be relieved a lot from the traffic chaos, he said.
