Mysore/Mysuru: MP Pratap Simha has directed officials to evacuate unauthorised occupants of houses built by Karnataka Slum Development Board and allot houses to the deserving poor.

Chairing the District Development Co-ordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) Meeting at the Zilla Panchayat (ZP) Hall here yesterday, Pratap Simha pointed out that there are around 50,000 eligible beneficiaries for Group Housing and instructed the officials to complete works on construction of houses at the earliest.

Noting that a survey conducted in 2016-17 identified 65,000 people in the district, including 14,000 in Mysuru city, who do not have own houses, Simha said that till now 13,000 houses have been constructed, but the allocation has not been done properly, which had led to unauthorised occupation of houses. The MP also pointed at the lack of basic amenities in Ashraya houses at Mandakalli and Gurur in the taluk.

Slum Development Board Executive Engineer Harish Kumar said that out of the sanctioned 6,341 Ashraya houses, 1,189 have been completed and allotted.

Maintaining that there is a target to construct 5,112 houses, Harish Kumar said that 2,497 houses will be completed in a few months. The tender process is on to construct houses at Lalitadripura and Gurur, he said.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dr. K.V. Rajendra said that it is not possible to allot sites for construction of independent houses under Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and Buffer Zone. Hence, the Revenue Department officials have been directed to construct Group Houses, he pointed out.

Banks asked not to harass street vendors

MP Simha, who apprised himself on the progress in the extension of micro-finance for street vendors, called upon the Banks to ease the documentation process and not to harass the vendors for ‘small sums’ and short-duration loans.

Dr. K.V. Rajendra, who intervened on the issue, too urged the Banks to not insist on CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited) scores (A three-digit numeric summary of the Loanees credit history) or adopt other delaying tactics.

Unauthorised occupants of houses at Ekalavyanagar

Referring to Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the MP said that the State Government finances the houses of those who have a site. But in case of those who do not have a site, it should be allotted on a priority basis.

Referring to Ekalavyanagar issue, where the residents have been staging protests seeking Title Deeds, Simha maintained that there are many cases where genuine beneficiaries in the area are not occupying the houses. Hence, the illegal occupants of the houses must be evacuated and the houses allotted to the deserving, he said.

Greater Mysuru

On the issue of formation of Greater Mysuru, Simha said that all elected representatives and stake holders are aware of it. He instructed the officials to prepare the proposal and table it in the Mysuru City Corporation.

Health Cards

With reference to distribution of health cards, the MP instructed the officials to conduct a camp and distribute the same within the next three months.

District Health Officer (DHO) Dr. K.H. Prasad said that cards having QR codes are being distributed to beneficiaries of PMJAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana). Also, 10 lakh AYUSHMAN health cards have been issued, he said adding that 10,000 cards are being distributed on an average every day at Grama One Centres across the district.

Officials asked to adopt

Government Schools

MP Simha told the officials to adopt a school and help shore up the results in this year’s SSLC exam. “Adoption by way of each official being focused on a single school, should be thought of and the district should be in the top 5 in the State in terms of performance,” he said adding that he and the DC too would adopt a school each.

Arguing that the collective efforts of everyone concerned would help ensure that the district is in top 5 in terms of performance, he said that officials should pay a visit to their respective schools regularly and take stock of the progress made.

Railway Under Bridge

Railway official Vishnubhushan said that the Railways has come up with a proposal for construction of a Railway Under Bridge (RUB) near the main gate of Kukkarahalli Lake (Behind Crawford Hall) and on KRS Road.

MP Simha said that Mysuru has been sanctioned 9 new trains. Pointing out that 75 percent of the seats of the newly introduced Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru Vande Bharat Express train is getting filled up, Simha sought inputs from Railway officials on the number of passengers travelling in each train to-and-fro from Mysuru,on an average every day.

Flex boards menace

Commenting on flex boards menace, the MP directed DC to penalise those who put up unauthorised flex boards, hoardings and other publicity boards, no matter how influential they are. Simha also said that those who put up flex boards must be warned that a criminal case would be registered against them.

Waste Disposal Plants

MLA S.A. Ramdas said that the works on the Rayanakere and Kesare Waste Disposal Plants will be completed in a month.

Noting that the Plants have to be operated on an experimental basis for the first 15 days following their completion, he observed that the Plants have to begin full-scale operations from Jan. 1. Ramdas brought to notice the apathy of Medical Officers at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) on Chamaraja Double Road.

ZP CEO B.R. Poornima, MCC SE Mahesh and other district-level officials attended the meeting.

LED installation for street lights

Referring to the issue of LED installation for street lights on the Ring Road, MP Pratap Simha, who was disappointed with the slow progress of works, directed the MCC officials to ensure that the LED installation works are completed and that all the street lights glow by Nov. 30.