Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa has called upon unemployed persons to take advantage of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) which ensured right to work for the first time in the country.
Responding to the demands of farmers, who staged a dharna under the Akhand Karnataka Raith Sangha led by the former Union Minister Babagouda Patil at Suvarna Gardens outside the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha here on Wednesday, he said that in view of the drought condition in the State, the government had increased the number of days of wage-employment from 100 to 150. Migration from rural areas to urban centres was not because of the lack of job opportunities in villages. There was sufficient work in villages and even in dry hills, the Minister claimed.
“Instead of complaining and wasting time in tea stalls and coffee stalls, you should go to work. By working under the MGNREGA, you will not only help improve financial stability of your family but also will bring prosperity to your village. There is no need to migrate to cities and towns. You should exercise your right to work. If anybody denies you work, I will send him to jail.”
Accepting the memorandum from Mr. Patil, Mr. Thimmappa said he would place their demands such as waiver of crop loans taken from cooperative institutions and national banks; sugarcane prices on a par with the prices offered in Maharashtra; and scientific prices for agriculture produce, before the Chief Minister and the State Cabinet. He said he had directed tahsildars to correct mistakes in record of rights during computerisation.
The Karnataka State Secondary Schools and Colleges Association and several other associations of teachers of private secondary schools and colleges submitted a memorandum to Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Tanvir Sait demanding grant-in-aid to secondary schools and colleges opened after 1995. Mr. Sait promised that he would first conduct a survey on such institutions and their functioning before placing their demand with the government.
