Mangaluru: KPCC spokesperson and former MLC Ivan D’Souza on Thursday, claimed that the Smart City projects undertaken by Mangaluru Smart City Limited (MSCL) have exceeded their estimated budget by three times and that none of the projects is getting completed on time.
“By spending money without proper planning, the MSCL is wasting the taxpayers’ money. The citizens already have doubts about whether there is a misuse of funds in connection with the smart city projects,” Ivan told the media during a press briefing at the Dakshina Kannada Congress Committee Hall in the city.
He then demanded that an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) or Lokayukta investigation be conducted into the alleged irregularities in the smart city projects.
Speaking further, the Congress leader pointed out that in the past two years, since the inception of the Smart City project, none of the projects that have been undertaken were done systematically and neither do they stick to the standards. “The nearly Rs 40 crore development work of Mahakali Padpu has come to a standstill and it is learnt that even the land has not yet been acquired,” he said, adding that money is being spent on these projects without any good results.
“There should be some kind of discussion in the near future regarding the expenditure of the projects, as there is still no public accountability. The ACB or Lokayukta should probe the smart city project accounts and clarify the doubts of the public,” he added.
Speaking about the Ashraya scheme, Ivan said, “I want to ask MLA Vedavyasa Kamath about the delay in the handing over of houses to 916 families under the Ashraya scheme. In 2018, the then Congress-led state government had allotted houses for 916 beneficiaries under this scheme. Till now, however, no houses have not been handed over to the beneficiaries. It has already been two years. This very shows the strategy of the BJP government. They are not concerned about the poor.”
“After it came to light that there were irregularities and mishandling of the projects, an order was issued to revise the entire list of beneficiaries. This indicates that there is a political angle in allotting houses,” he added.
Opposition leader of the MCC Council Abdul Rauf, former mayor/corporator Shashidhar Hegde and Neeraj Chandrapal were present.
