Governor Vajubhai Vala on Monday declared that the government was determined to hasten the march of Karnataka towards a “progressive and inclusive society” with focus on “compassion and tolerance.”
“A society based on principles, not only of equity and justice, but also of compassion and tolerance,” the Governor said, while addressing the joint session of the State legislature.
Claiming that the government had stood firmly with people of the State in protecting the land, water and language despite challenges posed by court orders, he asserted that the government would remain committed to securing the rightful share of the State with respect to Cauvery, Krishna and Mahadayi interstate rivers.
Highlighting various initiatives of the government, he said about 4.5 lakh poor children had been admitted to private unaided schools under the Right to Education Act in the last three years and the fee towards their education had been borne by it.
Focusing on the infrastructure development of Bengaluru city, he said various road development and other infrastructure works to the tune of Rs. 7,300 crore would be taken up in the next two years. The government would play pro-active role to introduce sub-urban rail for the Bengaluru Metropolitan area in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Railways.
The drive to reclaim encroached government land in Bengaluru had resulted in recovery of about 4,700 acres in the last three years.
A new policy had helped the State in retaining its prime global position with respect to start-ups. Over 4,000 start-ups had received investments of over $ 1billion in the last two years.
Dwelling on the uprgrading of road network in the State, the Governor said 717 km of State highways and 3,570 km of Major District Roads (MDR) would be taken up for upgrading this year. This was in addition to the plans to develop 2,795 km of State highways and 1,520 km of MDRs at a cost of Rs. 3,500 crore under the State Highway Development Project’s Phase-3 programme.
