Mangaluru: A monthly committee meeting at Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) on Monday, September 26 planned to establish three zonal offices in set places. Almost all the powers of the head office in Lalbagh will be delegated to zonal offices for ease of governance.

The subordinate MCC offices will be established in Surathkal, Mallikatte and Kadri in order to facilitate people who come from distant places to get their job done. They are also to be built to avoid crowding in the main city corporation building at Lalbagh.

MLA Moideen Bawa said, there is an urgent necessity of zonal offices and that complete support must be given in making the zonal offices happen.

Though several members of the committee raised certain objections about the proposal, Mayor Harinath was keen on the project. He feels that the Commissioner of MCC has done his homework well.

MCC Commissioner Nazeer said, “The wards in their respective zones have been designed with care. Surathkal has 12 ward officers to whom the authority of running the zonal office can be given. In Mallikatte, there were ward officers who were promised zonal officers post, but two years passed and the office was still not made. So they took a transfer and went off to another place.”

“Zonal offices are already functioning in Hubballi and Dharwad. It is about time that we too started the same. Distribution of work will be easier once three development officers are promoted as zonal officers in Mallikatte,” Nazeer said.

According to the Commissioner, powers of providing trade and building licenses will be been given to the zonal offices. “Birth and death certificates can also be registered in these offices, but only if there are corrections in the certificates, people will have to come to the main MCC office in Lalbagh”, the commissioner clarified.