The need for a separate municipal corporation for Dharwad is increasingly growing. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also hinted that Dharwad should be from Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC). A committee of prominent citizens of Dharwad met the chief minister at his residence in Hubballi during his visit to the city. They submitted a memorandum asking for the bifurcation of HDMC. Bommai said Dharwad needs to be freed from HDMC, and the government is considering the demand. Despite being the district head-quarter, the city got a raw deal besides the redevelopment under the HDMC schemes. The government established HDMC in 1962, and each councillor was nominated. The constitution of a municipal corporation for both cities was without any demand from people in Dharwad or Hubballi. Major fund parts were allocated to redevelopment works in Hubballi as it had more wards compared to Dharwad. Currently, there are 82 wards in HDCMC, out of which 28 are in the Dharwad division and 54 in the Hubballi division. When it comes to taking up development works, Dharwad is constantly discriminated against, while Hubballi has always received all the projects of HDMC. Under the Smart City project, Dharwad received no funds, and every work is about Hubballi. There was a plan to build a flyover from Kalghatagi toll Naka to Alur Venkatrao Circle in Dharwad to ease traffic bottleneck, but that work is delayed, while the construction on the flyover at Rani Channamma Circle has begun. As the previous Union Minister Prahlad Joshi and CM Jagadish Shettar are from Hubballi, Hubballi has become the centre. Dharwad also lacks political leadership. Since 1962, the citizens have asked for a white paper on the development work done in both Hubballi and Dharwad by the HDMC. To have a municipal corporation a city should have a population of three lakh, and Dharwad has a total population of 5.5 lakh. After getting a separate municipal corporation, Dharwad would get an annual special grant of Rs 100 crore for development. Hubballi would be released from saving the money in the grants allocated to it. Image Source