Hunsur municipal sanitation workers are expected to receive housing plots soon after the legal transfer process for a two-acre site nears completion, local MLA G.D. Harish Gowda said at a civic workers’ day programme in the city on November 5.
Gowda said the site identified earlier by Hunsur City Municipal Council had been measured and that the beneficiaries could receive the plots after approval from the deputy commissioner at a meeting scheduled for November 23. The announcement places the next step with the district administration, following the completion of the site measurement and the ongoing legal handover process.
The MLA also said ₹93 lakh kept in the civic workers’ welfare fund would be released to beneficiaries at the stage of constructing their houses. The report did not specify the number of sanitation workers eligible for the plots or the individual amount each beneficiary would receive.
The land allocation is linked to a wider housing and welfare concern affecting sanitation workers, whose work is essential to the functioning of cities but whose access to secure housing remains dependent on municipal decisions, land availability and administrative approvals. In Hunsur, the proposed handover will require the district administration’s approval before the municipal beneficiaries can formally receive the plots.
At the same programme, Gowda said the government had received a proposal to establish a biogas plant using waste collected within Hunsur city. The urban administration minister had given in-principle approval to begin the facility as a pilot project in Hunsur, he said. According to the MLA, the project is intended to address waste management challenges while producing biogas from the city’s collected waste.
The announcement connects the welfare of civic workers with the municipality’s waste-handling system. Sanitation workers are responsible for collection and related services, while the proposed plant would create an additional processing route for a portion of the waste generated within the city. The report did not provide the proposed plant’s capacity, cost, site or implementation schedule.
Legislative Council member D. Thimayya said it was impossible to imagine a city or village functioning without civic workers. He also criticised the social neglect faced by the community and referred to the contribution of former Karnataka chief minister D. Devaraj Urs, whom he credited with ending bonded labour and manual scavenging practices in the state.
The programme also included recognition for civic workers Mahadev, Naveen, Mada, Suresh and Shobha for their service. Students Sneha and Amulya were honoured for educational achievement. Speakers encouraged the children of civic workers to pursue higher education and compete for positions beyond the occupation traditionally associated with their families.
Gowda further said the Babu Jagjivan Ram Bhavan, which has reportedly remained under construction in Hunsur for 17 years, would be completed within the next year. He said ₹17 lakh would be provided from the MLA’s fund and ₹20 lakh from the legislative council member’s fund. Thimayya is expected to inaugurate the building after completion.
The immediate administrative milestone for the housing allocation is the November 23 meeting, when approval from the deputy commissioner is expected to be sought before the plots are handed over to eligible beneficiaries.
