Mangaluru: Newly appointed Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) chairman Santhosh Kumar Shetty has said that long-pending master plan for Mangaluru will be his top priority, along with speeding up residential lay…

Mangaluru: Newly appointed Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) chairman Santhosh Kumar Shetty has said that long-pending master plan for Mangaluru will be his top priority, along with speeding up residential layout development, improving urban infrastructure, simplifying procedures and ensuring affordable housing for the poor and middle-class.Addressing mediapersons after assuming office on Monday, he outlined his priorities for the authority and said MUDA should play a larger role in the overall development and expansion of Mangaluru rather than limiting itself to the development and allotment of residential sites.“The master plan proposal was submitted to the government in January, and the clarifications sought by the government have also been furnished. The minor hurdles in it will be discussed with Minister U T Khader and Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, and it will be implemented soon after obtaining the government’s final approval,” he said.Shetty said the implementation of the master plan, which is crucial for the systematic growth of Mangaluru, would be taken up on priority.MCC Commissioner inspects infrastructure, development issues in MangaluruProviding details of various layouts under MUDA, Shetty said efforts would be made to speed up both infrastructure works and the allotment of residential sites.The Kunjathbail layout, spread across around 18 acres, has nearly 200 sites. Of these, 35 sites have already been allotted, while the process for allotting the remaining sites is under way.The Konaje layout, spread over 13.5 acres and comprising 142 sites, had faced delays due to certain technical issues. These problems would be resolved and the development work will be resumed soon, he said.At the Chelyaru layout, development work has commenced on around 700 sites spread across 45 acres. The earlier confusion over the revision of site cost would be addressed based on the prevailing market value, Shetty said.Infrastructure developmentMUDA should not be restricted just to site allocation but must contribute to the comprehensive infrastructure development of the entire Mangaluru city, he said. “Mangaluru city needs to expand towards Surathkal, Baikampady, and Mulki. MUDA would also undertake plans to construct flyovers and underpasses in the coming days,” Shetty said.He said MUDA would identify lakes and other waterbodies within its jurisdiction and take steps to accelerate their development and rejuvenation. As the availability of large parcels of land for developing parks similar to Kadri Park was limited in the city, MUDA would look at developing smaller parks in residential neighbourhoods by utilising available plots measuring around 25 or 50 cents, as well as acquiring suitable private land.With land prices within the city becoming increasingly unaffordable, purchasing residential sites has become difficult for low- and middle-income families. To address the issue, MUDA plans to develop affordable residential sites and housing projects on the outskirts, he added. He said steps would be taken to prevent the menace of middlemen/brokers in the authority. Since rules and processes are complex, people rely on engineers or middlemen. To make this process easier, rules will be simplified after discussing with elected representatives, MLAs, and officials.

Source: Deccan Herald