Southern States
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Karnataka
State facing funds crunch, says CM
By Our Staff Correspondent
BADAMI, DEC. 8. The Chief Minister, Mr. S.M.Krishna, on Saturday admitted that the State's financial position was not pleasant, and its management had become a tightrope walk.
Mr. Krishna, who attended a mass marriage function here, told presspersons that although there was no ban on treasury as such, it had been instructed to release funds to various works on priority basis.
He said the big projects like the UKP was executed, which needed at least Rs. 3,000 crores. Similarly, laying of new roads and improvements of existing roads needed over Rs. 400 crore. There was dearth of funds for all these works. Yet, the State's financial condition was better compared with many other States.
Referring to the power problem, Mr. Krishna said there was a huge gap between demand and supply. Further indicating that the increase in power tariff was imminent, he said enormous resources were needed to augment power from other States.
Asked about the Cabinet expansion, he said whatever he wanted to say he had spelt out. Replying to a supplementary question that whether he would rectify the regional imbalance in his Cabinet, he said there no instance of his predecessors forming regionally-balanced Cabinet. Moreover, he said, it could not be rectified in the absence of clarity over the issue.
About the regional imbalance in development works, he said corrective measures could be initiated after the Dr. Nanjundappa Committee constituted to study the regional imbalances, submitted its report by March.
Asked whether the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, would dedicate the Alamatti Dam in January next, he said he was not aware of any such thing. When his attention was sought about the statement made by the Bijapur MP, Mr. Basanagouda R.Patil Yatnal (BJP), that Mr. Vajpayee had given a tentative date in January for dedication of Alamatti, the Chief Minister said: ``He cannot speak on behalf of our Government. He can talk on behalf of their (Union) Government.''
About the hydel unit at Alamatti Dam site, he said the work would start next month as it was stated by the Minister of State for Energy, Mr. Veerakumar Patil.
On railway projects to be taken up under the Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprise (K-RIDE), he said four works would be commissioned, and Hassan-Mangalore gauge conversion was on priority list.
Strongly reacting to the statement made by the former Prime Minister, Mr. H.D.Deve Gowda, that the Congress regime led by Mr. Krishna was insensitive to the people's problem, he said his (Mr. Gowda's) opinion was not people's opinion.
About the demand that Bagalkot should be shifted to the rehabilitation township at Navanagar, he said a decision would be taken after studying the pros and cons of the issue.
#Earlier, inaugurating the mass marriage ceremony, Mr. Krishna called upon the people to take austerity measures while conducting various functions, including marriages. Lauding the efforts of the Urban Development Minister, Mr. B.B.Chimmanakatti, who organised the function in which 1,001 couples tied the nuptial knot, he said it would be a milestone in the history of mass marriages.
Mr. Chimmanakatti said the event enabled hundreds of poor parents to conduct marriages of their children with much burden, saved them crores of rupees. Sri Balagangadharnatha Swami of Adichunchanagirimath, Sri Gurusidda Rajayogindra Swami of Moorusaviramath, Dr. Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Srikshetra Dharmasthala, termed the function a historic event.
Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge, Home Minister, Mr. Dharam Singh, Minister for Public Works, and Mr. S.R.Kashappanavar, Minister for Small Scale Industries, were conspicuous by their absence.
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