Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation to rename zonal offices as ‘people-friendly zonal offices’

Published 31 July 2026 · india

HUBBALLI Hubballi-Dharwad Mayor Durgamma Bijawad has said that the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) will rename all its 12 zonal offices as “people-friendly zonal offices” and

HUBBALLI Hubballi-Dharwad Mayor Durgamma Bijawad has said that the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) will rename all its 12 zonal offices as “people-friendly zonal offices” and take measures to improve the delivery of civic services. She was delivering her maiden speech as the Mayor, in her first monthly general body meeting in Hubballi on Friday. Bijawad said that initiative would go beyond just a change in nomenclature, with efforts being made to ensure that the zonal offices functioned in a citizen-centric manner. She also announced that monthly review meetings would be held to monitor administrative reforms and the progress of development works. Among the measures announced was the transfer of breakfast allowance directly to the bank accounts of sanitation workers instead of providing meals.

She said construction of 320 houses for sanitation workers was under way and would be completed at the earliest. The Mayor said that of the 64,000 streetlights in the twin cities, 22,000 had already been converted to LED lights. The remaining would be upgraded within a year, she said. She announced that the 2,744 properties of the municipal corporation that had been leased, would be auctioned and the revenue generated would be used to construct a major market complex to create a stable source of income for the civic body. Bijawad said the ongoing Geographic Information System (GIS) survey was expected to be completed by April, enabling the corporation to improve property tax collection. Referring to healthcare, she said Chitaguppi Hospital, which receives over 600 out-patients every day and performs over 800 major surgeries each month, would be provided with additional facilities.

Under the Hasire Usiru (Green is Life) initiative, saplings would be planted in 728 parks within the corporation limits to improve green cover and park infrastructure. An allocation of ₹10 crore had been earmarked for the development of villages within the HDMC limits, she said, adding that the Pink Auto initiative announced by the previous Mayor would be launched shortly. Heated exchange The council proceedings were briefly disrupted after BJP member Ramappa Badiger raised the issue of pending grants due from the State government, triggering an exchange between the BJP and the Congress members. Badiger said the HDMC was the first municipal corporation in the State to provide ₹1.5 crore as ward development funds to each councillor and urged Congress members to press the State government to release pending funds for civic works.