The recent floods are not likely to come in the way of the inauguration of Yadgir district, carved out of Gulbarga district, scheduled to be held on October 31.
While there has been no word from the State Government regarding any postponement of the inauguration, Chief Secretary S.V. Ranganath has asked the Special Officer of the new district, K.G. Jagadeesh, to complete all the work so that the inauguration can be held as scheduled.
There have been some uncertainties in people’s minds owing to the decision of the State Government to downscale the Rajyotsava Day celebrations in view of the huge losses suffered by the State owing to heavy rain and floods.
Incidentally, the three taluks proposed to be included in Yadgir district — Surpur, Shahapur and Yadgir — are among the worst-hit.
When contacted, Mr. Jagadeesh told The Hindu that the work of identifying suitable buildings for housing all 70 government departments, finalising the staffing pattern in all the departments, purchasing furniture and office equipment, vehicles required for the government departments, and preparations for the inauguration were proceeding according to plan.
Of the 70 government departments, four departments — Public Works, the engineering division of the zilla panchayat, Education and Health — will function in their own buildings. Government buildings have been identified to house 50 departments and the remaining departments will be housed in private buildings. “The work of painting, laying the flooring and other basic renovation is almost complete.”
Mr. Jagadeesh said that 30 buildings were ready for occupation and the rest would be ready before the last week of October.
Regarding the staffing pattern, he said that the examples of Ramanagara, which has four taluks, and Chickaballapur, which has five taluks, were taken into consideration while finalising the proposal to have a total staff strength of 1,148.
He said that around 267 staff would be relocated from Gulbarga district to Yadgir district. For the remaining 881 staff a proposal had been sent to the Principal Secretaries of the respective departments to sanction new posts and start the recruitment process. “If at least 50 per cent of the staff required report for duty before October 31, the inauguration of the new district will be easy,” he said.
Mr. Jagadeesh said that Regional Commissioner Rajneesh Goel was in touch with the Chief Secretary, who had to convene a meeting of the Principal Secretaries of all government departments to give clearance to the proposals for creating new posts for the district and get the approval of the Finance Department.
He said that Yadgir town would be a model district headquarters centre with all facilities. A Rs. 30-crore proposal had been prepared for road widening, drinking water projects, beautification of the city by developing gardens and improving the Sanna Kere and establishing a sports complex at a cost of Rs. 2 crore.
“We are optimistic that everything will go as planned and the new district will be formed on October 31,” Mr. Jagadeesh said.
