Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (ANK)
Mangaluru, Jun 19: Revenue minister R V Deshpande ordered the district administration to clear files pertaining to 94c and 94cc within three months.
He was speaking during the review meeting regarding preventive measures to be taken in monsoon and all issues pertaining to revenue here at DC office on Tuesday, June 18.
Deshpande openly expressed his displeasure with the pending clearance of 94c and 94cc in both urban and rural areas. He urged the district administration to clear these within three months.
Beltangady MLA Harish Poonja along with Puttur MLA Sanjeev Matandoor alleged that the revenue department is taking bribes to clear files. He also said that everyone from tahsildar to the village accountant, demand bribes to clear files. When Deshpande asked for clarification, Beltangady tahsildar Ganapathy denied the allegations and said it was false. He also said that if the allegations were proved, he would resign from his post.
Deshpande urged deputy commissioner Sasikanth Senthil to visit Beltangady for inspection. If anyone is found guilty of taking bribes, strict action should be taken, he said.
The minister also urged the tahsildar and the village accountant to give a complete report to the local MLAs about file clearance and said that they also need to be informed to avoid confusion.
District in-charge minister U T Khader said, "We need Rs 122 crore for the permanent solution for drinking water problems. Earlier, we were storing up to 5 meters of water in Thumbay dam. Now we are storing up to 6 meters. If we decide to store up to 7 meters, then several acres of farmers’ lands may get submerged in water, for which we need close to Rs 122 crore to pay compensation to the farmers.”
Deputy commissioner Sasikanth Senthil said, "A total of 24 villages were facing water crisis. We provided water through tankers and tackled the crisis at the earliest.”
Deshpande said, "We need to improve Jaladhara scheme. Every official in the district needs to be alert. There should be no compromise in dealing with water issues.”
MLC Ivan D’ Souza said that there are many open wells in the district which are not in good condition. He urged the minister to take the matter into consideration.
Deputy commissioner Sasikanth Senthil said, "We have old drainage system in place. Due to leakage from there, water in the open wells is being contaminated. Work has been taken up to replace old drainage systems with new ones.”