Deputy Commissioner and in-charge CEO of Zilla Panchayat Priyanka Mary Francis on Tuesday directed the officers to give priority to the implementation of housing schemes for the poor in Udupi district.
She was speaking at the monthly Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) meeting held at the Zilla Panchayat (ZP) Hall, here.
Ms. Francis said that the Udupi district was lagging behind in the implementation of housing schemes. It had dropped in the ranking to the 27th place in the State as far as housing schemes were concerned, she said.
Babu Shetty, Chairman of ZP Standing Committee, said that shortage of sand in the district was responsible for the tardy progress in the construction of houses for the poor.
Intervening, Ms. Francis directed the officers of Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd. (KRIDL) and the Public Works Department (PWD), which were supplying sand, to furnish full details of those who had not recieved sand. Joint Director of Agriculture Chandrashekhar Naik said that the sowing process for the kharif crop was going on in the district. Sowing had been completed in 21,745 hectares of land in the district as against the target of 23,110 hectares.
As much as 1,878 quintals of seeds had been distributed and the department had a stock of 60.8 quintals. The demand for fertilizers was 3,646 tonnes. The department had distributed 2,627 tonnes and had a stock of 854 tonnes, he said.
To a query by the president of the Zilla Panchayat, Dinakar Babu, an engineer from the Panchayat Raj Engineering Division said that 129 open wells had been dug, and two tap water schemes, 12 minor water supply schemes and 278 pipeline extension works had been taken up. Intervening, Mr. Babu said that the Panchayat Raj Engineering Division was not taking the zilla panchayat into confidence while either drawing up plans or while implementing them. He objected to the implementation of the spill-over works.
The officer said that there were 955 spill-over works in the district which required a total of ₹ 27 crore. A sum of ₹ 17 crore had been released in this fiscal year, he said.
Chief Planning Officer Srinivas Rao said that there was 55 % progress under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNERGA) scheme. He said that funds for various works should be paid within the stipulated time to the beneficiaries, he said.
The issue of ration cards, water purification units, staff shortage in Animal Husbandry Department and KSRTC bus schedules were also discussed in the meeting.
