CM to DCs: You will be held responsible for the lapses in drought relief work
Mr Siddaramaiah said that during 2015-16, the govt had released over Rs 275 crore for drought relief, of which Rs 175 crore had been spent.
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has warned district deputy commissioners (DCs) and ZP CEOs that they would be held directly responsible for any lapses in drought relief work.
Speaking to the media after holding a video conference with 12 district DCs and CEOs here on Sunday, Mr Siddaramaiah said that during 2015-16, the government had released over Rs 275 crore for drought relief, of which Rs 175 crore had been spent.
Besides, Rs 50 lakh for each district and Rs 50 lakh for each Task Force in the Assembly segments have been released and there was no dearth of money for taking up drought relief.
Blaming the Centre for not releasing over Rs 400 crore for last year's drought relief, Mr Siddaramaiah said Revenue Minister Mr Srinivas Prasad and Agriculture Minister Mr Krishna Byre Gowda have appraised the Union government about the intensity of drought in the state.
Besides, a delegation headed by Water Resources Minister Mr M.B. Patil and IT&BT Minister Mr S.S. Patil would visit Maharashtra and request the government in that state to release 2 tmcft of water each to Krishna and Bhima rivers for drought relief.
The Cabinet sub-committee on disaster management would be meeting either in Bidar or Kalaburagi in the next 10 days to review the situation, he said. Stating that at 270 villages do not have any source of water, Mr Siddaramaiah said that water would be supplied through tankers to these villages till June.
The government has also relaxed the norms for electricity connections to borewells, where prior permission of the Energy department was needed.
Besides, the dead connections of borewells will be allowed to be re-connected.
To dig borewells, the district administration has been allowed to hire geologists on a contract basis, if there is a shortage of geologists, he said.