Karnataka - Belgaum

New organisation to work for development of Belgaum district

Staff Correspondent

`Efforts of elected representatives to get budgetary allocations for development yieldedvery little results'

Belgaum: A new organisation with members cutting across political and linguistic affiliations will be floated soon to work as an effective "pressure group" to expedite the process of development in this border district of Belgaum.

At a press conference here on Wednesday, Janata Dal (Secular) leader Jagdish Metgud and District Kannada Organisations Action Committee president Ashok Chandargi said that the efforts of elected representatives from the district during the last five to six years to get budgetary allocations for development yielded very little results, thanks to continued negligence of powers at Vidhana Soudha.

Office-bearers of various organisations, including Belgaum Mahanagar Jagruti Nagarakikara Vedike, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Kannada Kriya Samithi, Chanakya Yuvak Mandali, Sarvodaya Yuvak Sangh and former Corporators, including Ramesh Sontakki, were present.

They recalled the visit of former Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development M.Y. Ghorpade to a few villages of Athani taluk on the border with Maharashtra to pacify them and to change their mind to migrate to the other State during 2001. Then S.M. Krishna Government sanctioned Rs. 4 crore to take up development works not only in 22 villages where villagers had threatened to leave Karnataka, but even in other villages in the taluk. But, the Government spent hardly Rs. 1 crore then.

Unfulfilled promises

The S.M. Krishna Government had given an assurance on sanctioning Rs.100 crores to Samabhashik Samavichar Vikas Vedike in 2000 to take up comprehensive development programmes for Belgaum city. Also, it was also promised to clear the Rs. 129 crore-project for remodelling of drinking water and drainage network in the city. None of these assurances were implemented, they said.

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