Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said here on Sunday that the government will sanction Rs. 40 crore more as compensation for arecanut growers whose plantations have been affected with “kole roga” (fruit rot disease) in this rainy season in the State.
At a review meeting here he said that the government has already sanctioned Rs. 30 crore as compensation from the Central Relief Fund (CRF) to the affected farmers in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Shimoga, Uttara Kannada, Chikmagalur and Kodagu districts. According to it each affected farmer would get Rs. 12,000 per hectare.
A report by Dakshina Kannada district administration tabled in the meeting said that the disease hit 24,541 hectares of arecanut plantations in the district in this rainy season. The total loss has been estimated at Rs. 310.568 crores. The district required Rs. 22.96 crores of which the government has released Rs. 3.50 crores so far.
Roads
The Chief Minister said that the government would release funds for the repair of roads damaged in rains based on the severity of the damage. There would not be taluk-wise distribution.
BPL
He directed the Deputy Commissioner and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the zilla panchayat to convene a meeting of village accountants, panchayat development officers and food inspectors to sort out some confusions in the selection of below poverty line families for issuing them BPL cards. The CEO Tulasi M Maddineni said that the meeting would be convened in a week.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that officials of the Department of Food and Civil Supplies should not stop receiving applications for availing BPL cards.
Inquiry
The Chief Minister directed the CEO to conduct an inquiry into why the immediate past district officer of B. R. Ambedkar Development Corporation in Dakshina Kannada (not the present district officer) did not maintain proper records of borewells sunk, energised and pending for drilling.
To a question by Nalin Kumar Kateel, Member of Parliament, the Chief Minister said that the government immediately can not supply boiled rice for beneficiaries of “anna bhagya scheme” as there was no stock. The government would have to purchase and stock it. The government would think over its distribution, he said.
