Mangaluru : The Mangalore City Corporation has not sent any proposal to the government to upgrade the corporation as Greater Mangaluru City Corporation, according to Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake.

He was answering a question by Ivan D’Souza, MLC, in the winter session of the Legislative Council at Belagavi,  that he asked the corporation to send a proposal on these lines to the State government about a year ago. He had been toying with the idea of Greater Mangaluru which had been opposed earlier by Mangaluru City South MLA J.R. Lobo.

Mr. Sorake said that the government had not received any guidelines from the Union government for including Mangaluru under its smart city project. The matter would be examined after receiving the guidelines.

A new vented dam at Thumbe being constructed across the Netravathi for supplying drinking water to the city will be completed in 2015, the Minister told the MLC in a reply to another question.

The dam is being built by the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board at an estimated Rs. 75 crore.

To another question by Mr. D’Souza, the Minister said that the government would examine if the monthly honorarium to the members of the corporation councils could be increased to Rs. 10,000 per month from the current Rs. 3,000. The MLC said that the Chief Minister has agreed to increase the honorarium to the councillors of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to Rs. 25,000 a month.

The Minister added that 1,074 posts in Mangalore City Corporation were lying vacant. It included 704 posts of D grade, 338 posts of C grade, 19 grades of B grade and other 13 posts.