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Karnataka
By Our Special Correspondent
The RIDF was set up by NABARD in 1995-96 to lend to the State Government and State-owned corporations for quick implementation of rural infrastructure projects. Initially, the assistance under RIDF was available for medium and minor irrigation schemes, land development, and rural roads and bridges. Later, watershed development, soil conservation, the integrated market yards, integrated cold storage chains, inland water transport system, rural godowns, flood protection, drainage, fish jetties, premises for health services, primary school buildings, drinking water supply, and village shandies of gram panchayats were included under the RIDF. In the beginning, the loan used to be up to 50 per cent of the project cost on the ongoing schemes, and up to 80 per cent for smaller projects that cost less than Rs. one crore. For new projects, the assistance had been raised to 90 per cent of the cost. Karnataka has availed of Rs. 1,555.53 crore under the six branches of assistance given since the beginning, in which North Karnataka accounted for a share of 59 per cent. Division wise, Gulbarga got the maximum of 38.02 per cent (Rs. 591.38 crore), followed by 21 per cent (Rs. 327.65 crore and Rs. 332.93 crore) each for Bangalore and Belgaum divisions, with Mysore receiving 19.51 per cent (Rs. 303.56 crore). Dharwad, Gadag, Chitradurga, Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, and Udipi districts have received less than two per cent of the share given to the State while Gulbarga District alone received a little less than one-fourth of the assistance (23.42 per cent — Rs. 364.27 crore). Bangalore Urban District received the next highest share of 7.28 per cent (Rs. 113.22 crore) followed by Belgaum with 5.70 per cent (Rs. 88.70 crore), and Hassan with 5.32 per cent (Rs. 82.75 crore). While 728 road works, 127 bridges, 100 minor irrigation schemes, and 14 other works were taken up in North Karnataka, the corresponding figures for South Karnataka are: 1,002 road works, 228 bridges, 52 minor irrigation and seven other works. The panel has noted that of the four instalments of assistance received up to March 1999, Karnataka got 7.19 per cent (Rs. 27.29 crore) of the assistance, and stood at the sixth position, Uttar Pradesh (Rs. 58.84 crore), Andhra Pradesh (Rs. 48.33 crores), Maharashtra (Rs. 34.59 crore), Madhya Pradesh (Rs. 32.48 crore), and Rajasthan (Rs. 28 crore) occupying the first five places. The committee has noted that despite the funding facility from NABARD, the RIDF projects are beset with many problems. They include time and cost overrun, poor quality, and poor post project maintenance of the assets created and non-adherence to the project specifications. These shortcomings, says the panel, need to be given a serious consideration by the State Government, as otherwise the level of assistance extended to the State under RIDF, "may progressively shrink in the coming years". As RIDF is a good avenue through which the State can operate to bring down the regional disparities, the State must strive to extract the maximum assistance from NABARD under the scheme, the HPCRRI says.
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