Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (DV)
Mangaluru, Jan 29: A day after the union minister for development Venkaiah Naidu released the first list of 20 Smart Cities, in which Mangaluru did not find a place, MLC Ivan D'Souza opined that 'political influence' was the reason behind Mangaluru missing out.
Addressing a press meet at his office here on Friday January 29, Ivan said, "It is a huge disappointment that Mangaluru has not made it to the first list of 20 Smart Cities. We had expected Mangaluru to get selected in the first phase. We had done a lot of ground work and prepared the proposal as per the prescribed guidelines.
"We welcome the inclusion of two cities in Karnataka - Davangere and Belagavi - in the Smart Cities list, but why is that Mangaluru was left out?
"I spoke to some people and technical experts, and they too questioned whether any injustice had been done to Mangaluru. I feel that political pressure has worked behind selection of the cities. Union miniser Siddheshwar is from Davangere and Suresh Angadi is a prominent MP from Belagavi and it may be possible that they may have influenced the decision," he opined.
"Mangaluru has good infrastructure and connectivity. We had submitted the proposal even before Davangere. The union ministry of urban development should come up with a white paper on where Mangaluru has failed and in which department," he demanded.
"The exclusion of Mangaluru has saddened me. If there has been any political pressure or influence in finalizing the 20 cities, the government should review the list and announce a new one," he added.
Mayor Jacintha Alfred, deputy mayor Purushottam Chitrapur and others were present.