Karnataka - Mysore   

MUDA meet turns stormy on transparency issue

MYSORE: The rift between members of the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and authority chairman P. Manivannan on the issue of transparency came to the fore at a meeting here on Saturday.

While Marithibbe Gowda, MLC, staged a dharna protesting against the chairman’s directive to allow a live telecast of the meeting exclusively for media personnel, a few Bharatiya Janata Party members, staged a protest against Mr. Martithibbe Gowda’s attitude and walked out of the hall.

However, a section of the elected representatives took offence against what they perceived to be a “non-issue” and beyond the purview of MUDA regulations. Mr. Marithibbe Gowda criticised Mr. Manivannan for being anti-MUDA, accused him of showing disrespect to the elected representatives and threatened to move a breach of privilege motion against him.

Mr. Marithibbe Gowda said that by raising the issue of transparency and making it public, the chairman had created an impression that holding a meeting in the media’s presence amounted to being transparent.

This, the MLC argued, amounted to humiliating the members. However, the BJP members, including H.S. Shankarlinge Gowda, MLA, and Siddaraju, MLC, protested against the attitude of Mr. Marithibbe Gowda.

It may be recalled that Mr. Manivannan had issued a circular among the MLAs and MLCs of the region seeking their opinion on allowing the media to cover the proceedings of the MUDA instead of having in-camera meetings.

Mr. Manivannan had written a letter to the members on November 2 seeking their opinion on the issue. The letter had raised several issues pertaining to public perception eroding the credibility of MUDA and had stated that there was pressure from public calling for greater transparency on the part of the urban development authority. The objections raised by a few members — that the media was not allowed in Cabinet meetings and hence the same yardstick should be followed in MUDA — was rejected by Mr. Manivannan on the ground that the Cabinet took decisions pertaining to law and order and some of them had to be secret, while the mandate of the MUDA was town planning which did not call for secrecy. Mr. Manivannan argued that MUDA discussions pertained to the development of Mysore alone and hence should be in public purview.

However, the November 2 letter incensed Mr. Marithibbe Gowda, who questioned the powers of the chairman, but the latter stood his ground and replied in a fresh letter that the powers of the chairman were defined in the Karnataka Urban Development Act.

He also rejected the charges of breach of privilege on the grounds that it was a request to seek opinion whether to permit the proceedings live through audio and video, before the meeting started.

Though the proceedings were telecast on Saturday, the volume was muted and nothing was audible except when Mr. Marithibbe Gowda threatened to take up the issue and move a breach of privilege motion.

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