Karnataka - Bangalore

State getting raw deal on projects: Kumaraswamy

BANGALORE: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Thursday took a harsh line against the Union Government, particularly the Ministry of Railways, on what he termed the “step-motherly attitude” towards Karnataka while sanctioning projects.

“Every proposal from the State is discriminated against, and compared to other States, we always have tough conditionalities, and in cost-sharing projects Karnataka has to bear a higher cost,” Mr. Kumaraswamy said, speaking to presspersons after a review meeting of railway and highway projects.

The Government on Thursday released its share of Rs. 30 crore for the Kottur- Harihar railway line. The meeting with officials of the Railway Board and the South Western Railway and South Central Railway also cleared several cost-sharing projects. These include doubling of Bangalore-Ramanagara-Mysore line, gauge conversion of Gadag-Bagalkot line, completion of Kottur-Harihar, Gulbarga-Bidar and Munirabad-Mahbubnagar lines. Another cost-sharing project, the 167-km Hubli-Ankola line, a new one, at a cost of Rs. 998 crore has hit a roadblock. The Railways has been directed by Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to stop work since a petition had been filed against the project in the Supreme Court. The MoEF and the State Forest Department officers surveyed the area and the recommendation of the State Government for acquisition of the required forest land is awaited. Mr. Kumaraswamy said other projects in the pipeline were the new Hassan-Bangalore railway line, doubling of Bangalore-Tumkur line, and gauge conversion of the Mysore-Chamarajanagar and Kolar-Chickballapur lines.

Railway stations at Kengeri, Bidadi, Ramanagara, Channapatna, Maddur and Mandya would be upgraded and improved, and passenger train services would be introduced between Hassan and Mangalore. Additional trains would be introduced linking Bangalore-Arsikere-Hassan, and between Hassan and Mysore.

In the meeting with officials of the Ministry of Road Transport and Shipping, the Rs. 6,300-crore World Bank funded Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP) with 20 per cent input from the State, was cleared to cover 4,300 km of State highways. The Union Government clearance was expected to be granted within the next week, Mr. Kumaraswamy said.

He also asked the officials to advance the deadline for completing repairs on highways that had been damaged in the monsoon in Bangalore, Hubli, Kundapura-Mangalore link, and the complete the survey and feasibility report on the four-laning of Hassan-Mangalore road.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said some new railway projects would be proposed for inclusion in the next budget by the Union Government.

New lines for Bangalore-Hassan, Shahbad (Gulbarga district)–Bagalkot-Kuduchi (Belgaum district), Chamarajanagar-Kanakapura-Bangalore, Talaguppa-Honnavar, Kadur-Chikmagalur-Sakleshpur, Gadag-Haveri, Holenarsipur-Kushalnagar, Shimoga-Harihar are to be included.

After meeting coffee and cardamom farmers from the Western Ghats, who have incurred heavy losses due to excess rain,

Mr. Kumaraswamy said he had decided to set up a committee of secretaries of departments of Revenue, Expenditure and Horticulture and representatives of the growers which would study the problems and come up with a solution.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu