'Rs. 56,000 cr. allocated for poverty alleviation'

By Our Staff Correspondent

UDUPI, AUG. 6. Mr. V. Dhananjaya Kumar, Union Minister of State for Finance, said on Sunday that the Union Government had allotted Rs. 56,000 crores for the implementation of 362 programmes aimed at development and poverty alleviation in the current financial year.

He was inaugurating a one-day training camp for the elected representatives and district-level workers of the BJP, here.

Of this amount, Rs. 23,850 crores had been allocated for subsidies benefiting the common man. The Union Government had allocated Rs. 1 crore for the implementation of a pilot project in every taluk to develop four roads at a cost of Rs. 25 lakhs each, Mr. Kumar said. A cess of Re. 1 was being levied on petroleum products that would fetch a revenue of Rs. 5,000 crores, he said. Of this sum, Rs. 2,500 crores would be spent on the development of rural roads and the remaining amount would be spent on providing drinking water to rural areas.

Pointing at the strong nature of Indian democracy, Mr. Kumar said in Pakistan, the Constitution had been suspended and a democratically elected Prime Minister had been thrown behind the bars. The happenings in Fiji and Myanmar showed how vibrant Indian democracy was.

Stating that the Indian Constitution provided for a welfare State, Mr. Kumar said the Union Government had formulated programmes with a long-term view. Implementation of the programmes in the last 50 years had left a lot to be desired, as most of them were used to gain political mileage than to serve the people.

Mr. Kumar said the BJP was a cadre-based party with a constitution, and held its organisational elections regularly. He said training camps helped acquaint the elected representatives with legislative procedures. The party also held refresher courses for the elected representatives and constantly evaluated the performance of its candidates, he added.

On Veerappan's demands, Mr. Kumar said the forest brigand had held the State to ransom. It was not possible to meet his demands such as letting the Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu throughout the year and to accord second language status to Tamil in the State. He wondered how the Chief Minister, Mr. S. M. Krishna, who had said the demands of Veerappan would be met, would fulfil them. Neither the Karnataka Government nor the Tamil Nadu Government had sought Central help in the matter, he said.

The Minister said non-banking financial companies (NBFC) which had scrupulously followed their articles of association for three years were given permission to renew deposits. A committee had been appointed to study the issue and based on its report new laws would be formulated. Asked about the move to shift the Head Office of the Syndicate Bank from Manipal to Bangalore, Mr. Kumar denied such a move was on. However, the matter would be discussed with the Union Minister of State for Finance and his ministerial colleague, Mr. Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil, he said.

Mr. Kumar said the Union Government had released Rs. 100.75 crores for the maintenance, upkeep and extension work of National Highways in the State. Work on the four-lane highway from Talapady to Byndoor was on the cards and the process of identifying the agency to execute the work had been completed. Work on the six-lane ``Golden Quadrangle'' Super National Highway connecting the four metros in the country was progressing, he said. Work on the 185-km. Delhi-Jaipur Super National Highway would be completed by October 31, five months ahead of schedule.

On the controversy over his statement on environmentalists, Mr. Kumar clarified that he had said there were certain vested interests working in the name of environmentalists. The Minister said he was ready for a debate on this issue. Dr. V. S. Acharya, submitted a report prepared by the Deputy Commissioner of Udupi District for the widening of the State Highway from Adiudupi to Kadiyali junction, to the Minister.

Earlier, Mr. Uday Kumar Shetty welcomed the gathering and compered the programme. Mr. A. G. Kodgi, former President of district unit of the BJP, delivered the introductory remarks. Mr. K. Lakshminarayana, President of district unit of the BJP, spoke. Dr. V. S. Acharya, MLC, Mr. H. Srinivas Shetty, Kundapur MLA, Mr. I. M. Jayaram Shetty, former MP, and Mr. Monappa Bhandary, BJP leader, were present.

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