Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday announced a slew of measures for the welfare of workers in the unorganised sector, including residential schools for children of those engaged in construction activity and other fields and houses under various housing schemes. He also said that a National Academy of Constructions will be set up.
Inaugurating a State Labour Conference organised by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee’s Labour Cell president S.S. Prakasam here, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the Building Construction Welfare Board has Rs. 2,066 crore by way of subscription. Of this, he said, funds would be earmarked for the construction of residential schools in Gulbarga, Bangalore and Mysore.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the children of workers would be imparted quality education. He said that Rs. 150 crore would be spent on these schools. He said that the National Academy of Constructions that required Rs. 200 crore would be on the lines of the one working in Hyderabad. It would be named after Sir M. Visvesvaraya.
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The Chief Minister said that houses would be built under the Indira Awaz, Ambedkar Awaz and Basava group housing schemes for workers in towns under 13 city municipal councils. For this, the Labour Department would spent Rs. 160 crore. Community halls for conducting marriages and other holding functions benefiting labourers would be constructed at four places at a cost of Rs. 1 crore each.
With a view to helping children of workers, skill development centres called Kaushalya would be established in 25 districts and each one of them would get Rs. 3 crore. He said that all these development activities would start this year.
Thanking the labour class for voting the Congress to power, he said that implementing 60 promises of the 160 made in the election manifesto had helped it win the byelections in the Bangalore Rural and Mandya Lok Sabha constitutions and also the three Legislative Council seats.
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Minister of State for Labour Parameshwar Naik presented awards to labour leaders. Home Minister K.J. George and senior Congress leader and MLA D.K. Shivakumar spoke.