Karnataka - Shimoga   

Minister takes officials to task for not approaching him for grants

MAKING A POINT: Minister for Energy K.S. Eshwarappa reviewing development work in Shimoga on Friday. Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Hartalu Halappa is seen.

SHIMOGA: Minister for Energy K.S. Eshwarappa took officials to task here on Friday for not approaching him to get grants and approval for the speedy implementation of the development works in Shimoga city.

Reviewing progress of development work, he asked them to approach him in Bangalore so that he could talk to the higher officers concerned to seek early release of grants instead of making a list of works to be taken up at review meetings convened in Shimoga.

He suggested that the list of works to be taken up should prepared by the local officials and that it be sent to the higher officers well in time so that he could it follow up at State-level review meetings addressed by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa in Bangalore.

He asked Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey to ensure proper communication between the district-level officials and the higher officers with regard to works to be taken up for early implementation.

Mr. Eshwarappa noted that several development works had been taken up in Shimoga city after the BJP came to power and many of them were in the final stages of completion. “However, none of them has been formally inaugurated,” he said and felt that some of them could be inaugurated by January 14 by the Chief Minister. He asked the officials concerned to see that the works proposed to be launched were completed by then.

He pointed out that the work on the KSRTC bus stand first phase, Suvarna Samskruti Bhavan, mini Vidhana Soudha, BH Road, Fire Service Station and the KSRTC Depot could be formally slated for inauguration by January 14.

Mr. Eshwarappa said that the road from A.A. Circle to Lakshmi Talkies via Nehru Road, Durgi Gudi and Jail Circle was proposed to be widened and it would be given a formal approval soon.

He suggested that the Shankar Math Road could be upgraded into a four-lane road taking into consideration the traffic congestion.

He said that it was inevitable to construct a subway at the Convent Circle on BH Road to ease traffic congestion.

He said that the underpass should provide for two-way traffic.

Mr. Eshwarappa stressed the need to speed up road construction work at the railway underbridge on Honnali Road.

He said that an agency had been fixed for construction of Shivappa Naik Market and work on it would commence soon.

Mr. Pandey said that a public interest litigation petition had been filed in the High Court of Karnataka with regard to a site belonging to the Veterinary Hospital on the land earmarked for the proposed Shivappa Naik Market complex.

He said that talks were being held with the petitioners by the municipal authorities for the fulfilment of some of their demands.

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Hartalu Halappa, MLA K.G. Kumaraswamy, Chairman of the Shimoga Urban Development Authority Jnaneshwar and district-level officers were present.

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