About 2,500 hectares of agricultural lands are sought to be irrigated through 56 vented dams to be built under the Pashchima Vahini scheme in Udupi district during 2023-24, said district in-charge Minister Laxmi R. Hebbalkar.
Delivering the Rajyotsava address at the Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations at the Ajjarkad Grounds in Udupi on November 1, Ms. Hebbalkar said the dams were estimated to cost about ₹450 crore.
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Drinking water
With the district recording 25% deficit in South West Monsoon rainfall resulting in loss of paddy on about 14,000 hectares of land, the administration has sought ₹11.85 crore compensation from the government. Tenders are invited to desilt the Baje dam and complete Varahi drinking water project by February, both for Udupi city, she said.
Ms. Hebbalkar said of the 2,47,190 households targeted for providing piped drinking water under the Jal Jeevan Mission in the district at ₹735.78 crore cost, 1,92,065 have already been provided connection. Remaining households would get the connections soon. The multi-village drinking water project to provide water to 122 villages at ₹1,600 crore cost is already complete while work to provide water to 59 villages at ₹585 crore cost is under progress.
Waste collection system is in place in 155 gram panchayats while 87 panchayats also have dry waste management facility. The district had the target of generating nine lakh man days’ work under rural employment guarantee scheme, of which 5.34 lakh days’ work was already completed by spending ₹32.89 crore. The maximum spend for individual works under MNAREGA was increased from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh.
Ms. Hebbalkar said the administration has taken up 355 road works and 16 bridge works at ₹627.37 crore and ₹69.89 crore cost respectively. As many as 468 footbridges would be constructed at ₹25 crore cost.
She said 2,516 fishermen in the district were provided ₹32.95 crore loan under Kissan credit card scheme while ₹70 lakh loan was disbursed under micro food processing unit scheme to them. Nearly 800 fishing vessels, mechanised deep sea and motorised boats were being provided subsidised diesel while motorised traditional boats were provided 300 kilo litres subsidised diesel every month.
New Indira Canteens would be opened to provide food at affordable prices to the poor at Kaup and Byndoor shortly, the Minister said.
MLA Yashpal Suvarna, Deputy Commissioner K. Vidyakumari, Superintendent of Police K. Arun, Zilla Panchayat CEO H. Prasanna and others were present.
