Grants will be released for a mini-Vidhana Soudha in Bantwal within two to three months, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said on Monday.
Speaking at the inauguration of several schemes in Bantwal taluk, Mr. Yeddyurappa said that he would direct officials to complete the construction of the mini-Vidhana Soudha within one and a half years.
The Chief Minister was responding to the demand of B. Ramanath Rai, MLA, who had earlier said that it was a long-standing demand of the people, as government offices were all located in different places there.
The Chief Minister said that he would consult Home Minister V.S. Acharya regarding the demand for separating Bantwal and Belthangady taluks from the Puttur police subdivision, and creating a new one for them. He said that he would ensure that the construction of a 100-bed hospital in the taluk would be completed within his tenure.
As regards the shortage of drinking water in the taluk, he proposed the construction of check-dams to augment water supply.
Footpaths
Mr. Yeddyurappa said that Rs. 5 crore would be released immediately for laying footpaths in Dakshina Kannada. He said that Rs. 2 crore would be sanctioned to the Ananthapadmanabha temple at Kudupu for development works.
About 50 per cent of this grant would be released soon, he said and added that a new synthetic track would be laid in the Mangala Stadium at a cost of Rs. 8 crore.
Organic farming
Stressing the need to promote organic farming, he said the Government would be taking steps in this direction.
Stating that nine lakh families had benefited from the Bhagyalakshmi scheme, he said Karnataka was the only State in the country to have such a scheme. The Chief Minister inaugurated the building of the community health centre at Vamadapadavu in Bantwal taluk. The construction of the centre is estimate to have cost Rs. 1.7 crore. He said that the community hospital could be a model for all government hospitals.
He said that Rs. 10 lakh would be sanctioned to enable the hospital to offer additional services to the patients. He said that he would look into the issue of shortage of staff at the hospital and residential quarters for the staff.
Later, in Bantwal town, he symbolically inaugurated a fire station, a new division of the Mescom for the taluk, a trauma care centre, and the newly constituted Bantwal Urban Development Authority, among others.
