Mangaluru : Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat passed a resolution to send a memorandum to State government to increase the grant for each member to Rs 50 lakh to take up fresh drinking water schemes in the district.

Speaking at the 23rd general body meeting of the ZP at Nethravathi auditorium in the City on Thursday, member Chennappa Kotyan said the government had released Rs 38.05 crore for drinking water schemes, including Rs 10 crore for multi-village drinking water scheme.

There is no separate fund for the multi-village drinking water scheme. The State government use to release contingent bill and task force fund, but now the government has been stopped it, he said and added that injustice was always meted out to the district.

The Zilla Panchayat fund is implemented through ministers and MLAs. A decision on ZP grant is being taken in Bengaluru but members are kept in dark, he added.

Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project Executive Engineer Jayaprakash said that under National Rural Drinking Water Supply Project (NRDWP), out of 976 projects sanctioned for the year, 569 projects had been completed and work on 407 projects was in progress, he said. Meanwhile, he clarified that the NRDWP maintains single bank account for all the drinking water projects.

In case of an emergency drinking water supply, ZP member Devraj said that Mescom should provide electricity connection to pumps using the existing transformers rather than installing new transformer for each motor.

However, Chief Executive Officer I P Sreevidya clarified that as per the norms, a separate transform should be provided to each project.

ZP president Asha Thimmappa Gowda said that a memorandum would be submitted to the government at the earliest in this regard.

She also said that work order would be issued at the earliest to implement a drinking water project worth Rs 74 lakh and a memorandum would be sent to the government to implement the remaining projects. The area welfare officer (AWO) or Executive Officers (EO) would look after the implementation. A separate account should be maintained for the task force fund, she said. She directed engineers to re-tender old drinking water projects as per the new SR value and issue work order once again.

Member Eshwar Kateel said that the multi-village drinking water project at Kinnigoli worth Rs 20 crore, which would provide drinking water to 28 villages through a network of 52 overhead tanks, was a blot on the district.

A sum of around Rs 8.61 crore has been paid to the contractor, but there is a long way for the project to be finished. The finished works are also of poor quality.

Even the panchayat vice president Sathish Kumpala said that the contractor was blacklisted once and the work had been handed over to Mogarodi Constructions.

However, using his influence, he has once again took up the project, he said.

The meeting unanimously decided to demand a Lokayukta inquiry against the contractor.

Asha directed District Health Officer Dr Ramakrishna Rao to instal plaques outside hospitals regarding the concessions provided by government to BPL cardholders within two days. She also expressed concern over unhealthy commission business between hospitals and ambulances.

The absence of the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom) senior officials enraged the members during the meeting. CEO P I Sreevidya said that senior officials didn’t take her prior permission and warned that those who attend the meeting should have complete knowledge about the issues and should be able to answer queries.

Earlier, before starting the procedures, Chairman Asha Thimmappa Gowda said that this year the Independence Day should be celebrated in a meaningful way by preparing pipe compost in every house. The panchayat members condoled the deaths of former president A P J Abdul Kalam and poet Kayyara Kinhanna Rai.

Social Justice Standing Committee president Meenakshi Manjunatha, Education and Health Standing Committee president C K Chandrakala, Deputy Secretary N R Umesh were present among others.