YADAGIR: Asserting that his Grama Vaastavya (village stay) programme is not a gimmick, but has been launched with the intention of solving problems of rural folk, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday announced a number of schemes for backward Yadgir district.
Mr Kumaraswamy, who arrived at Chandriki village in Gurmitkal constituency bordering Telangana, assured people that he would strive hard to solve the problems of the district as well as other places where he would be holding Grama Vaastavya programmes. “I have decided to stay at one village every month. Moreover I have also directed our ministers and legislators to hold similar programmes in their areas. This government is stable and nobody can destabilise it,” Mr Kumaraswamy said.
Referring to his decision to stay at a government school during his visit to villages, Mr Kumaraswamy said this was intended to improve conditions in the schools such as drinking water, school buildings and toilet facilities.
The CM who arrived at Chandriki village two hour behind schedule after taking part in the International Yoga Day programme at Yadgir town, was accorded a grand welcome on the way. In many villages, banners, festoons, buntings and huge cutouts of Mr Kumaraswamy and Gurmitkal MLA Nagangouda Kandakur were put up. Addressing a gathering of beneficiaries at Chandriki village, Mr Kumaraswamy announced that a new sophisticated 300-bed government hospital would be sanctioned for Yadagir town.
“I learnt that the existing 100 bed hospital is not adequate to meet the needs of people here. So I'm sanctioning an additional 300 bed hospital,” he said.
He, however, turned down the plea for sanctioning a medical college for Yadgir town saying it would not benefit the local people. “A medical college needs Rs 600 crore. Moreover outsiders will get admission in the college and it will not help local people much. Instead the funds can be utilised for solving other problems in the district,” he added.
Touching on the large scale migration of people from the district in search of employment, Mr Kumaraswamy said special attention would be paid for bringing industries to the district.
“There are 3,200 acres of land acquired by KIADB at Kadecur-Badiyaal village in the district. Moreover industrialists from Bengaluru and Telangana would be encouraged to set up industries here and other places in North Karnataka where industrial clusters woud come up", he added.
The CM said he would give top priority to spending Rs 1000 crore under the Jaladhara scheme, which was announced in the recent budget, for providing tap water to all villages in the district from rivers. Responding to the plea for revival of the Kalaburagi- Yadgir District Central Cooperative Bank, which has gone bankrupt, he said the government will immediately release Rs 100 crore to the bank to enable farmers get loans. "The banks are facing financial problems due to the wrongs committed by directors and officials. The state government had released Rs 302 crore to the Apex bank for the farm loan waiver scheme. But the Apex bank withheld Rs 140 crore to adjust loans due to it from the DCC bank. This has put the DCC bank in trouble,” Mr Kumaraswamy said adding an inquiry would be conducted into the misuse of funds.
He appealed to farmers not to harbour any doubts about the ability of the state government to waive off loans. "We have already released Rs 9000 crores to the nationalised banks and Rs 12,000 crores to the cooperative banks- including the funds due from the period of the Siddaramaiah government", he declared. He laid the foundation stone and inaugurated 20 projects amounting to Rs 320.7 crores in Gurmitkal constituency.
