Plans to change building laws: Khader

Mangaluru: The Urban development ministry is planning to change building laws to avoid blockage of flow of water to low lying areas especially in hilly regions in the light of Kodagu floods, said U.T. Khader, Minister for Urban Development here on Tuesday, August 28^th.

Mr. Khader addressed presspersons and said that one of the reasons for the blockage of rainwater was because of wrong construction as houses in both high and low-lying areas in hilly regions failed to take into consideration the flow of rainwater from the higher area to the lower area. This in turn led to the flooding, he said.

Replying to a query, the minister said that the State wanted to protect the Western Ghats. But there appeared to be many reasons for the severe floods in Kodagu and other districts. The experts would have to do an in-depth study to find the reason.

People were opposed to implementation of the K. Kasturirangan Report on conservation of Western Ghats and the state government would look into all the aspects. However currently, the government was giving priority to the rehabilitation works in Kodagu district, he added.

There are a lot of complaints regarding the implementation of housing schemes under the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation. On multiple instances, people did not have information about the housing schemes available under it, he mentioned. Hence, to give information about the housing schemes, the Urban Development Ministry will be launching a toll-free number on September 1^st.

Mr. Khader spoke on the accusation by BJP that the Congress rule in Udupi City Municipal Council was mired in corruption and observed that the accusations were politically motivated. If the BJP had proof, it could have approached the Lokayukta or the Anti-Corruption Bureau, he said.