Mangaluru : South MLA J R Lobo said the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) will write to the government on restructuring of allocation of funds for underground drainage works under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) scheme.

Briefing media persons here on Monday, he said the city corporation has prepared a Rs 160-crore action plan for five years from 2015-16 to 2019-20 for using funds under the scheme. In this, a sum of Rs 148 crore will be earmarked for sewage network in the old municipality area of Mangaluru, he added.

“The sewage lines laid in the old municipality area of the city are old and worn out. The sewage lines and manholes in the old Mangaluru area have collapsed and need to be repaired. There is a need to relay the sewage lines. Though the funds are not sufficient, we need to use the modern technology of pipe bursting and trenchless system to re-lay the sewage lines in the area. The funds available under the second phase of ADB assisted works will also be utilised for the purpose,” Lobo explained.

Under the new mission programme, the Ministry of Urban Development of the Union government will provide assistance up to 50 per cent of project cost for cities and towns. About 30 per cent of the cost has to be borne by the State government and 20 per cent by the city corporation, he added.

The MLA said that MCC has borrowed minimum amount of loan for undertaking basic infrastructure works in the city compared to any other developed cities in the country. The allegations of the opposition leader in the MCC council that every citizen in the Mangaluru city corporation limits has a loan of Rs 9,000 per head is far from truth. In the first phase of ADB-funded project, a sum of Rs 378 crore was spent for UGD and water supply works. In the second phase of ADB-assisted project, a plan for Rs 340 crore has been prepared, he said.

For water supply works, the MCC will get 40 per cent grant of the total project cost, 50 per cent loan and 10 per cent have to be borne by the MCC. For the UGD works, the MCC will get 50 per cent grant, 40 per cent loan and 10 per cent to be shared by the MCC. “Borrowing loan to take up infrastructure development work is common.

Under the second phase of ADB-assisted works, Rs 190 crore will be utilised for water supply and Rs 150 crore for the sewage lines. The State government has not insisted on the repayment of loan borrowed for the first phase of the ADB-assisted works. The work has not been completed yet. A recent survey by MCC officials had found some loose ends in the UGD project implemented by Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC). It found missing links of main sewer lines at 25 places. The MCC has sought Rs 21 crore to rectify the missing links from the KUIDFC. Once the fund is released, the missing links work will be taken up by the MCC,” he said.

Report on pvt bus stand
Lobo said that the feasibility report for the proposed private bus stand at Pumpwell will be prepared by the Infrastructure Development Corporation Karnataka Limited within 10 days.

The agency will look into the possibility of constructing bus stand on public-private participation (PPP) mode, he said.