Poll code in place, mayor to go without vehicle

MANGALORE: Mayor M Shankar Bhat is officially grounded. A move by the Election Commission of India to announce the poll schedule to constitute the next Lok Sabha and ushering in the code of conduct with immediate effect, makes it only a matter of time that the district administration takes away the official car allotted to him.
He is not alone in this predicament.All official vehicles issued to non-officials too will be taken away.
Sources in the election branch of the district administration told The Times of India here on Monday that the deputy commissioner will recall all official vehicles issued to non-officials including the mayor, president of Zilla Panchayat, heads of various boards and corporations, once the official notification from ECI is received. This is standard practice. Vehicles will be returned once the code of conduct is withdrawn, sources said.
Shankar Bhat said the days development also means that the Mangalore City Corporation will now not be able to present its annual budget until after May 16, when the counting will take place and results are announced. We were in preliminary stages of discussing the finer points of the budget and did not want to rush (in presenting the budget) without getting all our facts and figures right, Bhat told TOI here on Monday.
Admitting that the corporation will now not be in a position to take up or announce any new development works, Bhat however said that the works already announced and for which work orders have been issued can however be taken up.
Interestingly, Ganesh Hosabettu, his predecessor, faced the same predicament when elections to the state assembly were held in April-May last and had to give up his official vehicle.
Bhat also added that election to chairpersons of four standing committees of the corporation scheduled for March 6 would go on. Incidentally, members of the standing committee were elected along with the mayor and deputy mayor on February 25. Interestingly, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa during his recent visit to Puttur had decried this practice of development works coming to a standstill on account of elections.
jaideep.shenoy@timesgroup.com