Mysuru: In a meeting along with the Mysuru City Corporation’s (MCC), the Chief Minister Siddharamaiah, said that to resolve the water issues in the city, a decision on handing over the task to Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWS&DB) would be taken at the Government level.

Addressing the MCC officials during a meeting on Wednesday May 20 at Government Guest House in Nazarbadhe the CM made this announcement, even as officials of the civic body explained him that the MCC, at its meeting on May 15, had resolved to take over the task.

Mayor R. Lingappa, who intervened at this stage, sought Siddharamaiah to permit the MCC to take over the task for a period of six months on an experimental basis, to which, the CM reacted saying that as KUWS&DB was supervising the task of supplying water to all the City Corporations in the State, it would be better if the task of supplying water to Mysuru is entrusted to it and added that a final call on the issue would be taken at government level.

MCC officials, who said that the MCC was spending Rs. 3.88 crore to supply water to the city was getting a revenue of only Rs. 3.5 crore adding that there were 40,000 illegal water connections. They also sought powers to the Deputy Commissioner to approve works worth below Rs. 2 crore stating that about 80 percent of works will get approval at the local level.

The officials cited approvals required at 12 different stages for delay in implementing developmental works in city. Responding to this, Siddharamaiah instructed his Joint Secretary Ramaiah to take steps for early issuance of work orders through a single window system by the Department of Urban Development.

District Minister V. Sreenivasa Prasad, PWD Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, Co-operation Minister H.S. Mahadevaprasad, MLA M.K. Somashekar, MCC Commissioner Dr. C.G. Betsurmath, MUDA Commissioner S. Palaiah and others were present.