Foundation stone for housing project by December

The foundation stone for the construction of a multi-storied housing project having 930 houses for economically weaker sections of society in Shakti Nagar will be laid this December, said Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyas Kamath here on Monday.

Speaking at a function organised by the Forest Department to lay the foundation stone for the construction of residential quarters for Forest Department personnel, Mr. Kamath said that in another 15 days, the State Forest Department will write to the Union Ministry for Environment and Forest (MoEF) seeking permission for the housing project.

“We are likely to get approval from the MOEF. In all probability, the foundation stone will be laid by December,” Mr. Kamath said.

It was in September 2016 that the project for construction of 930 houses under the PMAY was approved. Houses were to come up in the 10-acre land in Rajiv Nagar in Padavu village of Shakti Nagar. The then Congress MLA J.R. Lobo issued title deeds to the beneficiaries a few days before the announcement of the Assembly elections in 2018.

The project did not move ahead as the Forest Department declared the land as deemed forest.

“In the initial one year, I did not know how to solve this issue and go ahead with project,” Mr. Kamath said. The MoEF denied permission for the housing project as the norms do not permit such construction in deemed forest land.

He pursued the matter with officials and consulted experts before placing a fresh proposal before the Forest Department, which was in compliance with the norms of the Forest Conservation Act. “Construction of these houses will be a reality,” he said.

Earlier, Mr. Kamath laid the foundation stone for the construction of an apartment having 12 quarters in the Forest Department’s land adjoining the nursery in Padil.

Deputy Conservator of Forests, Dakshina Kannada, Y.K. Dinesh Kumar said that for the first time the department has taken up construction of an apartment. “This is being done first in Mangaluru where there is more demand for quarters,” he said. The department has sanctioned ₹1 crore. The quarters is for the Deputy Range Forest Officer, Forest Guard, Forest Watcher and other personnel.

Mayor Premanand Shetty said that Mangaluru City Corporation will provide all necessary facilities for the new quarters. Chief Conservator of Forests (Mangaluru Circle) Prakash Netalkar also spoke.