The Hindu : Relocate office to Gulbarga: HKCCI

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 01, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Relocate office to Gulbarga: HKCCI

By Our Special Correspondent

GULBARGA May 31. The Hyderabad-Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HKCCI) has urged the State Government to reverse its decision to locate the headquarters of the proposed administrative office of the Commissioner for the Comprehensive Development of Backward Regions in North Karnataka, in Belgaum and instead locate it in Gulbarga city.

The President of HKCCI, Amarnath Patil, and its Honorary Secretary, Umakant Nigudgi, in a statement here today, said that it would be apt for the Government to set up the office in Gulbarga which was backward in all respects, and the intention of the Government to set right regional imbalances in development would not be achieved if the office was located in Belgaum which was a developed district compared to the districts in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.

Citing examples of the imbalances regarding infrastructure and the status of development of Gulbarga and Belgaum divisions, Mr. Patil and Mr. Nigudgi said that while the average road length in a 100 sq. km. area in Gulbarga Division was 1,531 km. it was 3,622 km. in Belgaum Division. While 65 per cent of villages in Gulbarga Division had all season roads, the percentage was 72 in Belgaum Division.

Similarly, there was wide disparity in the total length of State highways and national highways between Gulbarga and Belgaum divisions.

While Gulbarga Division had 2,148 km. of State highways and 381 km. of national highways, the Belgaum Division had 2,836 km. of State Highways and 1,008 km. of national highways.

The percentage of literacy in Gulbarga Division was 54.4 while it was 65.4 in Belgaum Division.

Children out of school in the 6 to 14 age group was 20.82 per cent in Gulbarga Division while it was only 10.56 per cent in Belgaum Division.

The statement pointed out that while there were 32,772 industrial units in Gulbarga Division, the Belgaum Division had 60,167.

They said that the Gulbarga Division had only 720 km. of rail line while the Belgaum Division had 927 km. While the Belgaum Division had 10 trains to Bangalore, the Gulbarga Division had only four trains.

The Gulbarga Division also lacked airport, agriculture cooperative societies, IT parks etc.

While the Gulbarga Division had only 582 bank branches, their number in Belgaum Division was 1,091, the number of agriculture cooperative societies in Belgaum Division was 3,114 while it was 962 in Gulbarga Division.

There was no airport in Gulbarga Division while there were two airports in Belgaum Division, which also had an IT park, the statement said.

The HKCCI had written to the Chief Minister, S.M.Krishna, the Home Minister, Mallikarjun Kharge, the Public Works Minister, Dharam Singh, the Labour Minister, Qamar-ul Islam, the Medical Education Minister, A.B.Maalakaraddy, the Minister of State for Small Savings, Baburao Chinchansur, and Minister of State for Adult Education, Baburao Chavan, to relocate the headquarters of the proposed commissionerate to Gulbarga.

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