Criticising the State government for its “attempts to wind up” High Power Committee (HPC) for Implementation of Dr. D.M. Nanjundappa Committee Report on regional imbalances, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded the government to continue the panel for at least another four years with Rs. 4,000 crore special grant annually for taking up various developmental works in the backward regions.
Addressing a media conference at Reporters’ Guild here on Monday, former chairman of HPC and BJP leader Trivikram Joshi said that the government had not filled the post of HPC chairman while appointing heads for various state-owned boards and corporations with a thought for winding it up.
“The recommendations of Dr. D M Najundappa panel report, submitted in 2001, were supposed to be implemented within eight years by spending Rs. 16,000 crore of special grants and Rs. 15,000 budgetary allocations. Though Rs. 13,565 crore special grants and Rs. 20,138 crore budgetary allocations were so far spent, the backwardness has not yet eliminated in majority of the 114 backward taluks identified in the report. There government should therefore continue the panel for at least another four years,” Mr. Joshi demanded.
The government should also assign the HPC the task of conducting a detailed survey in all the backward taluks identified in the report and review the implementation of various socio-economic and infrastructure development projects so that current status of their development could be ascertained and these taluks can come under focus for next four years, he added.
“Such a survey would enable us to drop those taluks that have developed in these years and focus on those that are still backward,” he said.
Union's role
Mr. Joshi also pointed out that many of the recommendations made in Dr. Nanjundappa panel that were supposed to be implemented by Union Government were still dragging.
Establishment of Indian Institute of Technology in Raichur and Indian Institute of Information Technology in Hubli-Dharwad, construction of Hubli-Ankola railway line, developing Tadadi port for encouraging exports from North Karnataka region, connecting each backward district with National Highway and other projects that are supposed to be implemented by Union Government are not yet considered, he added.
BJP leaders Basavanagowda Byagwatt, Bandesh Valkamdinni and others were present.
