Bishop denies controversy over housing project

February 7, 2012

Mangalore, February 7: Aloysius Paul D'Souza, the Bishop of Mangalore has denied any wrongdoing on the part of the diocese over a housing project being undertaken to mark the 125th anniversary of the Diocese.

Replying to a question while addressing the media to announce the conclusion of the year-long celebration, Mr. D'Souza said. “There is no controversy.” He, however, refused to elaborate any further by saying the the responsibility of these houses lies with the respective parish.

“We have built houses and till today around 97 houses are in various stages of construction. The beneficiaries of these houses are owners of their respective lands. They own the plots. We have received around Rs 52.3 lakhs for this housing project. The responsibility of these houses lies with the Parish of that area and they can attend to the issues of the tenants,” the Bishop said.

Asked about the residents of Maroli who were residing on the premises formerly owned by St. Antony's Institutes of Charity, the Bishop said that some of them lived in bungalows elsewhere.

Two Christian groups had staged a protest outside the Biship's house on January 31 accusing the diocese of fooling the people in the name of constructing house for the poor.

Members of the United Christian Association and Christian Reform Foundation staged a silent demonstration here on January 31 demanding that some of the families residing in houses owned by the Catholic church be given ownership of the houses.

They demonstrated in front of the Bishop's house in Kodialbail. In a pamphlet distributed to journalists, the two groups said that instead of building 320 houses as planned, the church should transfer ownership of the land in which poor families are presently living rather than build new houses for them.

Allegation

The pamphlet said that 13 families residing in the compound of St. Anthony's Institutes of Charity were being evicted from their homes. Residents of the compound Irene and John were shown as beneficiaries of a housing project by the church.

One of the families, portrayed in the press as the first beneficiary of the project had come out in the open saying that they had to pay a rent of Rs 2000 every month in order to live there.

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Why Mangaluru Could Become India’s Next Offshore Wind Energy Hub

News Network

February 3,2026

Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta has urged the Centre to give high priority to offshore wind energy generation along the Mangaluru coast, citing its strategic importance to India’s green energy and port-led development goals.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha under Rule 377, Chowta said studies by the National Institute of Oceanography have identified the Mangaluru coastline as part of India’s promising offshore wind ‘Zone-2’, covering nearly 6,490 sq km. He noted that the region’s relatively low exposure to cyclones and earthquakes makes it suitable for long-term offshore wind projects and called for its development as a dedicated offshore wind energy zone.

Highlighting the role of New Mangalore Port, Chowta said its modern infrastructure, multiple berths and heavy cargo-handling capacity position it well as a logistics hub for transporting and assembling large wind energy equipment.

He also pointed to the presence of major industrial units such as MRPL, OMPL, UPCL and the Mangaluru SEZ, which could serve as direct buyers of green power through power purchase agreements, improving project viability and speeding up execution.

With Karnataka’s peak power demand crossing 18,000 MW in early 2025, Chowta stressed the need to diversify renewable energy sources. He added that offshore wind projects in the Arabian Sea are strategically safer compared to the cyclone-prone Bay of Bengal.

Calling the project vital to India’s target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, Chowta urged the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to initiate resource assessments, pilot projects and stakeholder consultations at the earliest.

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