Encroachments on Mangaluru land meant for ICGA to be cleared in a week, says Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V

The establishments that have come up on the land earmarked for the Indian Coast Guard Academy (ICGA) at Kenjar in Mangaluru will be cleared within a week, said Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V.

The land, which was acquired by Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board, has been sold to someone else by the concerned, said the DC during District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (Disha) meeting, chaired by MP Nalin Kumar Kateel.

“The land earmarked for the Coast Guard should be utilised for the purpose. Disciplinary action will be initiated against officials who had registered the land after completing the process of conversion,” warned Rajendra.

To which, MLA Umanath Kotian said that the locals were up against encroachment of the said land and were preparing to hold a protest rally.

On a gaushala functioning in the said land, the DC said that for the needs of the cattle, the district administration was ready to identify gomala land.

Earlier, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel said that the Kapila Gaushala authorities had even approached Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and Maneka Gandhi. The encroachment of government land should not be tolerated, he added.

It may be recalled that initially, the Academy was proposed to come up in Kerala's Kannur district for which the then Defence Minister A K Antony had laid the foundation stone in 2011. However, the project did not get clearance from Union Environment Ministry and was shifted to Mangaluru.

Delay in Amrut scheme

The MP took the officials from the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) to task for delay in completing the works initiated under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

The officials said that contractor M/s Simplex Infrastrcture Pvt Ltd had failed to accelerate the work. The firm is facing acute financial crunch. The works at 12 locations are pending in Mangaluru.

Enraged over it, the MP directed the officials to ask MD of the firm to attend a meeting on February 24, wherein a FIR will also be filed against the firm for causing public nuisance and for failing to complete the work.

The MP even warned of initiating action against engineers if the MD of the contractor firm failed to attend the meeting.

In the meantime, the DC directed officials to seek legal advice and work on tripartite agreement to complete the already initiated work.

Smart City works

MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar said that the stay on the works initiated under Smart City projects were likely to be vacated shortly as High Court has sought a report from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to examine all projects are taken up in compliance with Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016.

The DC directed MSCL officials to prepare a work plan to start the work immediately after the stay is vacated. “If no progress is shown within six months, then I will recommend transfer of officials from the MSCL,” he warned.