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Drought: `Centre will not pull up State'

By Our Special Correspondent

The Union Minister for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, H.N.Ananth Kumar, was felicitated by the Vokkaligas at a function in Bangalore on Sunday. The MLA, Ashok (right), is seen. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

Bangalore June 8 . Despite the failure of the State Government to properly utilise the funds and foodgrains provided for drought relief works, the Centre did not propose to write to the State asking it to take corrective action, the Union Minister for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, H.N.Ananth Kumar, said here today.

On the contrary, the BJP leaders, including members of Parliament and legislators, would visit the affected areas and serve as a watchdog to apply the correctives at the local level, as they were keen to see that nothing was done which would result in stoppage of flow of funds and foodgrains for relief works, Mr. Kumar said.

Talking to presspersons, Mr. Kumar said he and the Union Minister of State for Textiles, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, along with senior party leaders had already visited the affected areas in 11 districts and were shocked to hear the common complaint that machinery was being used for removal of silt as the idea of giving foodgrains under the food-for-work programme was to benefit the farmers and agricultural labourers.

Mr. Kumar said the revelation of the Lokayukta about the unsatisfactory relief works in seven districts, including Bijapur, Chitradurga, and Bellary, was shocking.

The Centre had given 7.5 lakh tonnes of foodgrains for relief works apart from Rs. 174 crore in cash.

The State Government had said that two lakh tonnes of foodgrains was yet to be distributed.

In this connection, Mr. Kumar referred to the suicide by a State Government official, and said the suicide note left by him also pointed to irregularities in relief works and this was a matter of regret.

The minister took a dig at the President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, B.Janardhana Poojary, for his statement that only those who participated in relief works would be given tickets to contest in the ensuing elections to the Assembly.

This was a glaring example of the total neglect as it implied that the legislators and the Government had not engaged themselves in the relief work.

As regards prayers by those in the government to invoke the rain god, Mr. Kumar said prayer was one thing and the Government discharging its responsibility another.

There was also need to explore technology. Cloud seeding method had been tried in the past and the State Government should look into adopting it.

Above all, what was important in such a serious situation was that the Government should call an all-party meeting to explain what action it had taken to tackle the problem of providing drinking water and fodder, and the steps to end irregularities in the execution of relief works.

Apart from this, drought committees should be set up at the taluk and district level with representatives of all political parties as there was no transparency in the present system, Mr. Kumar said.

Earlier, Mr. Kumar was felicitated by leaders of the Vokkaliga community for his efforts in the inclusion of the members of the community in rural areas in the Central list of Other Backward Classes.

Katta Subramanya Naidu and K.N.Subba Reddy, MLAs, felicitated Mr. Kumar.

Replying to the felicitations, Mr. Kumar said it was the right of Vokkaligas which had been accepted by the Prime Minister, A.B.Vajpayee. The minister thanked the community for their support, and said the Swamiji of Adichunchanagiri Math had telephoned him to appreciate the good gesture of the Prime Minister and promising support to him.

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