CM H D Kumaraswamy to Horata Samiti: Officials reluctant to work in H-K region
Bangalore: Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday made his displeasure clear at the reluctance of government officers to serve in Hyderabad Karnataka. Revealing that many of the officers, who were transferred to the region, did not report for duty, he said the government may now have no choice but to appoint officers specifically for it. “How we can we spend the grants allocated for the region if we have no staff there to do the work? So we will have to consider appointing officers exclusively for the region,” he added at a meeting with leaders of the Hyderabad Karnataka Horata Samiti led by former minister, Vaijnath Patil at the Vidhana Soudha here.
While he claimed to be aware of the problems of the region, having toured it several times, he said he needed more time to solve them.” You know my predicament. My government is not independent. When I need to take certain major decisions on education, employment and so on I have to consult my coalition partner,” he said Responding to complaints from leaders of the region that it had made no progress even after it was conferred special status, Mr Kumaraswamy said he failed to understand this as all members of the Cabinet sub- committee and the Hyderabad Karnataka Development Board were legislators from the region. "
Lots of funds are provided, but I need to examine why they are not being utilised properly. I will camp here for a day or two and discuss what needs to be done to streamline the functioning of the HKRDB", he promised. Refuting the allegations that his government was neglecting the development of Hyderabad Karnataka, Mr Kumarawamy recalled that he had sanctioned a solar panel manufacturing unit for Kalaburagi, agriculture equipment for Bidar, an electronic toys unit for Koppal and a readymade garments manufacturing unit for Ballari, all at a cost of Rs 500 crore.
“Today's cabinet will discuss projects that need to be sanctioned for the region" he added. Mr Vaijnath Patil, for his part, demanded setting up of a separate tribunal for speedy disposal of all cases related to the implementation of Article 371(J) and urged the Chief Minister to create a separate secretariat for the effective implementation of the Article in the region and appoint a separate Minister with independent charge for it.
