Hyderabad Karnataka happy with its share of the pie

March 16, 2017 12:45 am | Updated 02:06 am IST - Kalaburagi

A partial view of dried up tank in Raichur.

A partial view of dried up tank in Raichur.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah showed his government’s commitment to the development of the Hyderabad Karnataka region by making reasonable allocations for various projects in the State Budget presented on Wednesday.

The allocation for the Hyderabad Karnataka Regional Development Board (HKRDB) has been raised from ₹1,000 crore to ₹1,500 crore.

As Basavaraj Rayaraddi, Minister for Higher Education, had announced multiple times, the CM announced the establishment of Raichur University in the budget. The government intends to carve out all the colleges in Raichur and Yadgir districts from Gulbarga University and bring them under the new university, to be established at Yeragera near Raichur.

The third big boost for the region is the announcement of various irrigation projects. Implementation of SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition)-based automation under the modernisation project of Narayanapura Left Bank Canal network, which irrigates 47,223 hectares of land, is big news for the farmers of Shorapur taluk in Yadgir district.

Among the projects are the filling up of Yaragola and five other tanks in Gurumitkal and Yadgir taluks, and 35 tanks in Yadgir taluk through the Sannathi scheme, the filling up of Chulkinala reservoir and tanks by lifting water from Kongali barrage of Basavakalyana taluk, the construction of check dams in Bidar, and a special programme to improve groundwater level in Aland taluk in Kalaburagi district. These projects are expected to address the drinking water crisis of the region during summer.

Implementation of the Nandawadagi lift irrigation project in Raichur, a micro-irrigation system on 20,000 hectares under Koppal and Singatalluru lift irrigation projects, installation of modern gates and rejuvenation work of Yadgiri and Yadagira of Kalaburagi district, modernisation of Gandorinala and Mullamari upper bank projects of Kalaburagi district, and construction of check dams in Bidar are expected to strengthen the irrigation network in the region. However, the farmers of Raichur have been left disappointed as their long-standing demand for extending the Narayanpur Right Bank Canal from 95 km to 146 km has not been met.

New taluks

Hyderabad Karnataka has also emerged as a major beneficiary in the announcement on formation of 49 new taluks in the State. Eighteen of the proposed taluks fall in the region.

Though a medical college has been promised for Yadgir, the specifics and allocation have not been mentioned. Renovation of VIMS Teaching Hospital, Ballari, setting up of a nephro-urology unit at Kalaburagi, establishing a police commissionerate in Kalaburagi, establishing Industrial Training Institutes in Shahapur, Surpur and Manvi taluks, construction of new prisons in Gangavati, Bidar, and purchasing of 700 NEKRTC buses are the other major announcements for the region.

“It is satisfactory budget for Hyderabad Karnataka as most of our expectations were met,” said Razak Ustaad, an activist associated with the Hyderabad Karnataka Horata Samiti.

Somanna Tengali, president of the Hyderabad Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries, thanked the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha for his efforts to ensure that the backward region got enough budgetary allocation.

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