Arbitrary transfers hindering completion of projects: Mangaluru Corporation Mayor
Mangaluru (PTI): Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) councillors, cutting across party lines, have demanded a fair, transparent, and speedy implementation of switching to an LED street light system under the smart city project that is underway.
The council witnessed pandemonium on this issue twice during the first hour of the council meeting on Thursday.
Raising the issue, the opposition (Congress) member Vinayraj of Court Ward said: “The smart city project is going on for five years and by this time the LED street light component should have been completed by the MCC. Meanwhile, three companies that had bid for the project, including Crompton, have been kept on tenterhooks by the MCC. What is causing the delay and why? City Corporation has been kept in the dark about this."
He alleged that the Corporation might be playing a trick on the people of Mangaluru by delaying the project and also keeping the information a secret.
Vinayraj said Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur is inefficient, as he was not able to control the officials.
Objecting to his comments, ruling BJP members stood up and shouted against Vinayraj and other councillors from the Congress party.
Meanwhile, Mayor Shetty alleged that the Congress-ruled state government was transferring officials from MCC.
“Thanks to these erratic transfers, the MCC is now down to 30 per cent of the workforce. We do not have dedicated staff for the management of the electrical system in the city,” he added.
According to a senior official of the MCC, the Corporation will save not less than 50 per cent power consumption, if the entire city's 65,000 street light points are energised with LED lamps.
He said 12,000 LED lights have already been purchased and another company called Fiza-Forum Enterprises has been mandated with the project and has placed orders for 50,000 units of LED lamp. If all modalities are over, all 65,000 street light points could be energised with LED lamps by November, he noted.
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Minister Patil chairs industry meetings to chart growth for key sectors in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister M B Patil on Tuesday chaired meetings with industry representatives from the aerospace and defence, machine tools, auto/EV, and green energy sectors to discuss sector growth and government support measures.
The meetings were attended by leading industrialists and their representatives, with some participating virtually.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister for Large and Medium Industries said Karnataka is at the forefront of the country’s aerospace and defence sectors.
He noted that Suzuki and Toyota plan to launch aerial taxi services in Japan by 2028, with Bengaluru-based Sasmos supplying electrical equipment for the project.
Industrialists suggested introducing similar “fly-taxi” services in Karnataka through an appropriate policy, which Patil said would be examined seriously.
The minister highlighted the need to establish testing centres and Common Facility Centres for the aerospace and defence industries and assured that these facilities would be provided.
Suggestions were also made to prepare a comprehensive roadmap for sector growth.
Karnataka has urged the Central Government to approve Defence Corridor projects in the Bengaluru North–Kolar–Chikkaballapur and Dharawada–Vijayapura–Belagavi regions.
Industrialists also suggested a corridor between Bengaluru and Mysuru, Patil said.
He said Karnataka aims to become a hub for defence electronics manufacturing, with plans to establish a 200-acre Defence Electronics Park and a 100-acre Avionics and Sensor Park.
These projects will be implemented once the Special Investment Region is operational, and land availability will not be an issue.
On the machine tools sector, Patil said the industry has recorded an annual turnover of Rs 36,500 crore and is witnessing steady growth.
Large-scale exhibitions have increased demand, and the state must strengthen its capabilities to develop control systems for heavy machinery. One testing unit is already operational in Bengaluru, with another planned for Tumakuru. Expansion of vocational training institutes in industrial areas is also underway.
In the Auto and EV sector, Vision Group members highlighted the need for a network of dry ports and more EV charging stations across the state.
Patil noted that the Tata Group is manufacturing EV buses in Dharawada for nationwide supply. Plans for mini excavator production and export facilitation were also discussed, along with the establishment of a testing facility for two-wheeler EVs.
For the Green Energy sector, the group emphasised the need for a suitable policy on battery-based energy storage and the establishment of data centres.
Patil assured that the government will seriously consider all suggestions and respond positively.
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