Southern States - Karnataka   

Govt. plans to upgrade Tumkur, Bellary CMCs

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE AUG. 25. The Government has plans to upgrade Tumkur and Bellary city municipal councils (CMCs) to city corporations, but a decision has been put on hold till the Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Delimitation Commission submits its report, the Minister for Urban Development, D.K. Shivakumar, has said.

Addressing presspersons here on Monday, he said the commission, headed by Justice Kuldip Singh, had directed States against altering the administrative structure of units till its report was finalised.

The commission was expected to finalise its report by February next. The Minister said there were no problems in the implementation of Self-Assessment Scheme (SAS) for property tax. In fact, the West Bengal Government was keen on adopting the State's model and a team from that State visited Karnataka recently, he said. The local bodies would evaluate property tax to be paid by apartment owners, builders, and real-estate developers. The Government had also issued orders on forming committees headed by the deputy commissioners at the district level to address grievances of taxpayers.

Guesthouses

Mr. Shivakumar said the State Government had finalised a Rs. 50-crore project for construction of guesthouses at Tirumala and Tirupati for the benefit of pilgrims from the State. He said the trust floated by the State for developing infrastructure had been raising funds for the project. The donors could sponsor rooms, dormitories, and suites and, in return, they would be offered 30 days' accommodation in a year, he added.

There was an overwhelming response from individuals and corporates to book space, he said. The Bangalore Turf Club had offered to contribute to the project and the Government Employees' Association had agreed to donate Rs. 3 crore, he said. However, it had been decided to give preference to government institutions for booking space, he added.

Institutions and individuals have to donate Rs. 6 lakh to book a room, Rs. 15 lakh for a dormitory, and Rs. 25 lakh for a suite. A few Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) had also evinced interest, Mr. Shivakumar said.

The Minister said the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams had responded positively to the initiatives of the State Government and added that a solution would be found to the dispute between the two States over the ownership of a piece of land. While Andhra Pradesh claimed ownership of the land at Tirumala where Karnataka has built a choultry, the State was disputing it on the ground that the land was gifted by Maharaja of Mysore.

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