The Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) quarterly meeting of the Davangere Zilla Panchayat here on Wednesday decided to submit a proposal to the State government seeking permission to construct classrooms of government schools in the rural areas of the district under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
As soon as the meeting began, Mayakonda MLA Shivmurthy Naik said that there is a provision to construct school classrooms and compound walls under the MGNREGA and the zilla panchayat should seek permission for it from the State government to help students in the rural areas of the district.
Responding to the appeal, district in-charge Minister Shamnur Shivshankarappa instructed the authorities concerned to send a proposal to the State government.
Harassment
Chennagiri MLA Vadnal Rajanna said that the officials of the Police Department are taking action against poor workers when they take sand from the Sulekere tank instead of initiating action against those involved in transportation of huge quantity of sand illegally. The department officials should be instructed clearly not to harass the poor workers, he added.
He also said that the price of one cubic metre of sand in Shivamogga was Rs. 400, while in Davangere, it cost Rs. 900.
The authorities concerned should put a check on price rise and take steps to reduce it, he added.
In response, Deputy Commissioner S.T. Anjan Kumar said that two years ago the price of sand was low in the district.
But after the construction of a stockyard, transportation charges were included in the cost of sand.
The issue will be taken up with the Shivamogga Deputy Commissioner and steps will be taken to reduce the price in the district. He also said that there are 58 sand blocks in the district of which 18 are functioning now.
Jagalur MLA H.P. Rajesh said that every year the zilla panchayat is releasing Rs. 10 crore for multi-village drinking water projects and the cost of these projects is increasing every year.
Instead of releasing Rs. 10 crore per year, the authorities should plan to release the entire amount required for the project and complete the work in the stipulated time to save time and money, the MLA said.
He said that the issue would be taken up with the State government if the zilla panchayat submits a proposal.
Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer R. Girish and Superintendent of Police Bhimashankar Guled and district-level officers were present.
