Karnataka - Bangalore

Rs. 357 cr. for drought relief

Special Correspondent

Shettar refutes charge on misuse of funds

BANGALORE: Revenue Minister Jagadish Shettar on Friday told the Legislative Assembly that the Government had released Rs. 493.38 crore to drought- and flood-hit districts, and relief measures were being implemented on a war footing.

Replying to a marathon debate on the drought in over 100 taluks in the State, he said that out of the Rs. 493.38 crore released, Rs. 356.56 crore had been allocated for drought relief measures in 128 taluks. A sum of Rs. 13 crore had been utilised for providing drinking water, Rs. 159.50 crore for flood relief, Rs. 1.5 crore for providing fodder, Rs. 34.05 lakh as compensation for crop loss and Rs. 50 lakh for the purchase of equipment.

Relocation of villages

A sum of Rs. 23 crore had been released to identify and purchase land to rehabilitate people from 90 villages that had been repeatedly flooded following the discharge of water from dams in Maharashtra. Twenty-seven villages in Gulbarga district, 34 in Belgaum, nine in Raichur, 16 in Bagalkot and two villages each in Koppal and Bijapur districts would be fully or partially relocated. Land was being acquired for the purpose, Mr. Shettar said.

There was no truth in allegations made by Opposition members that funds sanctioned for drought relief had been misused by contractors. He also brushed aside the charge that the Government had not spent Rs. 300 crore released by the Centre for drought relief. The Government had sought Rs. 1262.95 crore and 5.74 lakh tonnes of foodgrains for the drought-hit areas. But the Centre had released only Rs. 750 crore and 50,000 tonnes of foodgrains, Mr. Shettar said.

Task forces headed by legislators had been formed in each affected taluk for preparation of action plans on drought relief measures. Groundwater recharging, removal of silt from tanks and construction of bunds were being done.

Lapses had been reported in some taluks on account of lack of coordination among various departments. Mr. Shettar said he would take action against officials if any misappropriation of funds was noticed.

The former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (Congress), G.V. Srirama Reddy (CPI-M) and others alleged that Mr. Shettar had failed to table figures on assets created and employment provided through the drought relief measures. They demanded that the Government prepare a long-term strategy for tackling drought.

Walkout

Dissatisfied with the Minister's reply, Opposition members staged a walkout. Deputy Speaker N.Y. Gopalakrishna the adjourned the House for the day.

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