Housing scheme delay rocks TP general meeting

Taluk panchayats had been directed to identify government land where house sites can be allotted to those in need.

Members from several constituencies complained that their villages had not been surveyed. An official from the taluk office listed the area of land that had been identified in numerous villages, prompting many members to demand that an order copy be sent to them, listing the area of land and survey number.

A member representing the Munnur village said that in the last 34 years not a single application had been approved for government housing in the Munnur Gram Panchayat.

He said that under the Ashraya Housing Scheme, women were to be given sites, but it was not possible as there were technical difficulties in transferring title deeds in their names.. Beneficiaries in six out of seven areas in his constituency faced this problem, he said.

The official from the taluk office said there were provisions, but the Munnur member was not satisfied with the answer.

A member from Manjanady constituency said nearly 50 beneficiaries had been rendered ineligible as the criteria for allotting the sites had changed.

A member from Yekkar constituency brought up the issue of alleged illegal stone quarrying on government and patta land in Badaga Yekkar. Tahsildar C. Manjunath, who arrived late, said that a case had been registered in Bajpe police station and an inquiry was in progress.

When the member sought to seek more clarification, Mangalore MP Nalin Kumar Kateel intervened and told him to sit down asking officials to take up the next point on the agenda.

Earlier, he skipped the issue of mining and sand transportation saying that the tahsildar was not present.

Replying to the action taken on the issue of sand transportation, Mr. Manjunath said permits were not being issued without the consent of the gram panchayat.

He said the department had acted on several complaints related to illegal transportation of sand, but every time, they found nothing amiss. He said the GPS systems had been installed. Irregularities and lack of clarity about procedures in applying for and making changes to ration cards were discussed at length.

Panchayat president Bhavya Poojary and vice-president Vijayalakshmi Shetty had hardly made any comment to make on issues raised and they kept busy discussing among themselves and with the MP, though.

The only time Ms. Poojary spoke was to ask members to introduce themselves at the start of the meeting.