Mini Vidhana Soudha does not have licence from MCC

Times of India‎‎‎‎: Mangaluru: Monday, May 30, 2016.

The Mini Vidhana Soudha inaugurated at Hampankatta here in November 2015 has no building licence from the city corporation, according to the reply following a query under the Right to Information Act.

In reply to an application filed by activist Sunil S Vas, the public information officer in the town planning section of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) said that the authorities concerned have not obtained a building licence for construction of the Mini Vidhana Soudha. The corporation clarified it has no records pertaining to this building, which was sanctioned during H D Kumaraswamy's tenure as chief minister in 2007. Built at a cost of Rs 10.26 crore, the Soudha houses the taluk office, assistant commissioner's office, offices of the sub-registrar and land records, 'padasale' of the revenue department.

Vas told TOI he submitted an RTI application seeking information regarding Mini Vidhana Soudha on April 21. "I sought details of building licence, plan, occupancy certificate, completion certificate and other documents. The MCC informed me in its May 18 reply that they have no records pertaining to the Mini Vidhana Soudha since the building has no licence," Sunil said, and asked how a building can be made functional without obtaining the mandatory licence from the corporation.

"Be it a government or a private building, they should obtain a licence from the corporation. Meanwhile, the department of public works on May 23 said in reply to another RTI application that the department took up construction work as per the government approval of 2007. They further said the building has no occupancy certificate," Sunil said.

Deputy commissioner A B Ibrahim said as per law, the corporation's permission should be obtained, even for government buildings. "Generally, for government buildings, authorities concerned do not obtain permission. As per law, it's mandatory to obtain a licence for government buildings, too. They need not pay a fee to obtain permission from corporation. It's a formality and just paperworks, but most don't do it," he said.