Mangaluru, December 21: MLA J R Lobo called a press meet on Monday December 21st; in response to the allegations made by MCC opposition leader Sudhir Shetty pertained to the Amrut scheme and provided details on the various projects for which funds have been demanded or granted.
In a press meet, Sudhir Shetty had alleged that due to improper proposal submitted by the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC), the city had received only Rs 3.5 crore under Amrut scheme while other corporations had received Rs 40 crore, and that there was a burden of Rs 8,000 loan on each citizen.
MLA J R Lobo addressed press meet and said that the opposition leader had alleged that under Amrut scheme, only Rs 3.25 crore has been sanctioned for MCC and there is a loan burden of Rs 8,000 on each citizen of Mangaluru city. I have called this press meet to clarify on this. The work undertaken under ADB phase 1 is not complete, and a small portion is pending. Rs 370 crore has been spent on underground drainage under ADB phase 1. Today, the same amount of work would cost Rs 900 crore. Out of Rs 370 crore, 50 percent of the amount is granted by the government, and only 40 percent is loan and the remaining 10 percent is corporation’s share.
Under ADB phase 2, we are preparing the project report and we would be getting Rs 340 crore. For water supply projects; 40 percent will be the grant, 10 percent will be MCC’s share and 50 percent loan. As infrastructure projects are huge and costs a lot of money, particularly underground drainage (UGD) works, it is necessary to take loans. These are not direct loans but taken from the government. Even state government and central government take loans. Big cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and many other cities have taken big amount of loans. We are taking loans only for water supply and UGD projects. We have spent about Rs 190 crore for water supply and Rs 370 crore on UGD in phase 1. Compared to any other city corporation, we have taken the smallest amount of loan.
Under Amrut scheme, we will get Rs 148 crore. We will use this money completely for renovation of drainage system in the Mangaluru old city area. The present drainage was built in the year 1958 or 1960, and now it is in bad state. As this drainage is located in the city area, it cannot be repaired by excavation. So we need to use modern technology like pipe busting which will cost a huge sum, he explained.
He further said, as it takes time to prepare project report and money given cannot be carried forward, we have asked not to sanction amount of Rs 148 crore in the first year. Instead, we have asked to pay Rs 25 crore in 2nd year, and Rs 50 crore each in 3rd and 4th years and the remaining Rs 23 crore in the 5th year. We have urged for this revision and in this regard, the government has written a letter to ADB. I assure the residents of Mangaluru city that we will provide them the best infrastructure, he said.
In the press meet, Mayor Jacintha Vijay Alfred, corporator Deepak Poojary and Harinath were present.
