The demand for bifurcation of Hubballi- Municipal Corporation grew louder with councillors alleging that Dharwad has always got a raw deal in the sanction of grants and development activities.
At the general body meeting of held here on Tuesday, Corporators from Dharwad demanded that the house forward a proposal to the state government seeking bifurcation of HDMC. Raising the issue as soon as the meeting began, corporator and senior Congress leader Deepak Chinchore said the people of Dharwad feel betrayed as HDMC is focusing only on development of and has forgotten its responsibility towards Dharwad.

JD(S) corporator Raju Ambore too joined him by stating that HDMC had done grave injustice to Dharwad from several years. Keeping in view the growth of the city, there is need to bifurcate HDMC and sanction a separate corporation to Dharwad, he added. Soon, this demand turned into a chorus with other councilors supporting it.

Chinchore said Dharwad has all feasibility to get a separate corporation. “The KMC Act says that if tax collection exceeds Rs 6 crore and the city has a population of four lakh, a new corporation can be formed. The tax collection in Dharwad is Rs 7.8 crore and has a population of over 5.5 lakh,” he said.

As expected, the corporators from Hubballi opposed the demand. Corporators Rajanna Koravi, Pandurang Patil Dashrat Wali said the voice for a separate corporation should be curbed as it would affect the implementation of the Smart City project. The project is in the execution stage and if this demand is made, it is more likely that the Centre will withdraw the project, they said.

Mayor Sudhir Saraf said the issue was very sensitive and important and hence it cannot be resolved within one sitting. HDMC will soon call for a meeting of stakeholders, intellectuals, MLAs and MPs soon and take a final decision, he added. HDMC Commissioner Shakeel Ahmad also present at the meeting.