The State Government has approved the amendments proposed to the new master plan for the city, but is yet to issue a notification in this regard, Mayor Rajani Dugganna said at the Mangalore City Corporation council meeting here on Monday.
District in-charge Minister J. Krishna Palemar made an identical statement at a press conference on Monday.
Some of the changes that were proposed to the master plan included restricting the width of roads in residential areas to six metres and in commercial areas to nine metres as against nine metres and 12 metres respectively originally stipulated in the master plan.
Under the amended master plan, landowners will be required to give up a maximum of 1.5 metres of their property for roads in front of their houses. Many people, who had to part with three to five cents of their land had opposed the provisions in the master plan and sought reduction in the width of the roads.
The announcement by the Mayor followed a vociferous demand for a clarification by councillors at the meeting. As soon as the meeting began, several councillors sought to know why the amendments proposed to the master plan had not yet been approved. They alleged that the master plan favoured the rich, while poor people were made to run around for building permits according to the new rules.
Citing a media report, councillor Appi asked the Mayor why a statement had been issued saying that approval had been received for the master plan when the same had not been conveyed to the members of the council.
The councillors then approached the podium of the Mayor, ignoring her requests to return to their seats. They staged a dharna in the meeting hall and refused to let the proceedings continue forcing the Mayor to adjourn the meeting for 10 minutes.
When the meeting resumed, the Mayor clarified that the approval had been granted but the corporation had not yet received it in writing.
The new master plan will be in place until 2021 and has been prepared for a population estimation of 10.7 lakh.
The agenda for the meeting included the construction of a second vented dam at Thumbe. The corporation has said that it will seek legal advice before proceeding with the project. The corporation also proposes to set up a biogas plant near Urwa Market as a pilot project under the guidance of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai.
Commissioner K.N. Vijayaprakash and M.L.A. N. Yogish Bhat were present.
