The Hindu : Prisons in State to be modernised

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 23, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Prisons in State to be modernised

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE APRIL 22. The Minister for Health and Family Welfare, and Information, Kagodu Thimmappa, said the State Cabinet today decided to modernise prisons at a cost of Rs. 53.90 crore.

Briefing presspersons here after the Cabinet meeting, the minister said the Centre would provide 75 per cent of the amount and the State Government the rest. The five-year plan would be implemented from this year. The Government had already received Rs. 10.77 crore from the Centre as the first instalment, he said.

The Cabinet approved the new urban drinking water policy. The policy envisaged private sector participation in the water supply and sanitation sectors. The urban local bodies would levy user charge to maintain water utilities, he said.

The Karnataka Park Act would be amended to develop a park on the premises of the Old Central Jail. The Government would authorise the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) to develop and maintain the park for 20 years. However, the existing structures near the Jail would not be demolished, Mr. Thimmappa said.

Hudco would provide a Rs. 1,000-crore loan to the BMP over the next three years to implement programmes to beautify Bangalore. A sum of Rs. 250 crore had been provided in the first phase. The Cabinet decided to close down the Mandya Acetate and Chemical Factory. A Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) would be offered to the 117 factory employees, he said.

A sum of Rs. 7.5 crore had been collected from farmers under the `Yeshasvini' health insurance scheme. About 15 lakh farmers had already enrolled for the scheme and 10 lakh more would be enrolled. As many as 60 district hospitals had been identified to provide medical treatment to farmers under the scheme. However, taluk-level hospitals were yet to be identified.

The Government had released Rs. 22 crore for the construction of the Vidhana Soudha South Block. The amount would be spent on construction of towers and to install solar energy systems, Mr. Thimmappa said.

The Cabinet decided to amend the Karnataka Medical Registration Act, 1961 to create additional posts in dental, nursing, and pharmaceutical councils. It was also decided to fill backlog vacancies in the Department of Health and Family Welfare.

The Cabinet also decided to reserve three per cents of seats in postgraduate courses for in-service doctors serving in rural areas, he added.

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