Eyeing funds, Bellad wishes to defer proposal of separate corporations for twin cities

Hubballi: Deputy leader of opposition in the assembly, Arvind Bellad, who demanded a separate city corporation for Dharwad, now wishes to defer the proposal to meet the guidelines of the 16th Finance Commission (FC), which accords sufficient budget for cities with a population over 10 lakh. He is worried the twin cities will lose funding if they are separated in the next 5 years.Speaking to reporters here on Friday, Bellad said that he himself demanded a separate city corporation for Dharwad in the past. "Now the proposal is pending before the governor. Since the 16th FC gave sufficient funds of Rs 3,56,000 crore to over 100 cities in the country, and bifurcated 50% of the allocation to bigger cities and the remaining 50% for cities with a population over 10 lakh, it is better to defer the demand for separating until the 17th FC is constituted after 5 years," he added.
Appealing to activists demanding a separate corporation for Dharwad, he said he spoke to them and they need time to go through the data he gave. "If it is separated now, it will be injustice for both Dharwad and Hubballi. If the separation is deferred, both cities will be benefited. It can be accepted for the time being," he opined.When asked about his criticism against the state govt for delaying the separation, he said that there was an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore under the smart city project and Rs 100 special grants under the Nagarotthana scheme. "With the intention of getting these funds separately, we proposed separation. Now, after understanding the 16th FC guidelines, we feel that there is a need for course correction. We also discussed it with Union minister Pralhad Joshi, BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginakai, and Congress MLA Prasad Abbayya, and they expressed their consent to this decision," he stated.Former mayor Ramappa Badiger and others were present at the press meet.