Karnataka - Bangalore

‘State has failed to make the most of JNNURM’

Dinesh Gundu Rao

Bangalore: Dinesh Gundu Rao (Congress) on Saturday criticised the State Government for what he termed its utter lack of commitment in sending more infrastructure projects for Bangalore and Mysore to the Centre for approval under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Participating in the debate in the Legislative Assembly on the demands for grants by various departments, he said other States were vying with one another to get funds under the five-year project.

Maharashtra had got sanction for 100 projects and Rs. 20,000 crore would flow to that State. Gujarat was quick in getting Rs. 2,348 crore for 77 projects and Andhra Pradesh got 80 projects cleared. Unfortunately,

Karnataka had sent only 40 projects and got Rs. 1,230 crore for Bangalore and Mysore.

Criticising what he described as the haste with which the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike was formed by incorporating eight urban local bodies surrounding Bangalore without adequate preparations,

Mr. Rao said 2,000 posts had to be filled to cope with the expansion of the city. But the Government had not convened a meeting of legislators representing Bangalore, most of whom are from the Congress, to discuss the important subject.

He criticised the attempt by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board to acquire 325 acres opposite the international airport on behalf of a software company whose balance sheet showed a turnover of just Rs. 1 lakh.

K. Annadani (JD-S) alleged that smallholdings were being acquired at Halagur hobli in Mandya district. The farmers concerned would have no means to earn a livelihood, he said and demanded that their lands be denotified.

Araga Jnanendra (BJP) commended Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy for staying overnight in villages, instilling in the people the confidence that this was a government that cared for their wellbeing.

He wanted the remuneration for cooks and their assistants appointed under the Akshara Dasoha scheme to be raised to Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 800 respectively from Rs. 540 and Rs. 450.

Mr. Jnanendra sought relief measures for arecanut growers and said four growers had committed suicide because they were in dire economic straits.

Shivanand Patil (Congress) criticised Water Resources Minister K.S. Eshwarappa whom he accused of not showing the same interest as his Andhra Pradesh counterpart in developing irrigation in the State. While the neighbouring state was spending Rs. 50,000 crore over a period of five years on irrigation, Karnataka had not allocated more than Rs. 6,000 crore.

Mr. Patil said sugarcane growers committing suicide was something unheard of till a few years ago. This year 25,000 tonnes of sugarcane went waste because factories did not crush it. He claimed that no grower had got any compensation, contrary to the assurance given by the Government.

He blamed Minister for Sugar S.A. Ravindranath and the Commissioner for Sugar for not ensuring that sugarcane farmers were paid the statutory minimum price of Rs. 1,020 a tonne fixed by the Union Government.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu