Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and some of his Cabinet Ministers landed in Delhi on Tuesday to attend Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi’s daughter’s wedding reception.
They also met several Union Ministers and submit memoranda seeking clearance of pending financial dues and projects to the State. This is Mr. Bommai’s fourth visit to the national capital since he assumed office as the Chief Minister on July 28.
Several Union Ministers, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, were in Bengaluru last Sunday to attend the reception. Home Minister Amit Shah attended the reception in Hubballi.
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj K.S. Eshwarappa met Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Giriraj Singh in Delhi and urged him to release pending dues of ₹781.64 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act as on September 2. The State has already achieved 70% of the annual Budget and generated 9.11 crore of person days as on September 2, he said in a memorandum to Mr. Singh.
With heavy rainfall in July in 61 taluks of 13 districts, causing damage to infrastructure, the State urged the Union Minister to sanction additional 50 days of work under the Act in the taluks.
Noting abundant scope for utilisation of MGNREGA funds, Mr. Eshwarappa urged Mr. Singh to add additional works such as construction of public health centres, school and college buildings, libraries in gram panchayats, and rural gymnasiums under Schedule-1 of the Act under the category of rural infrastructure.
With regard to the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Ruurban Mission, he said the state has been given eight clusters. Mr Eshwarappa urged Mr Singh to sanction an additional 90 clusters to the state to replicate the success in other districts.
Mr. Bommai met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and sought release of pending dues under various centrally sponsored schemes. He called on Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw and discussed ongoing railway and infrastructure projects in Karnataka. Minister for Water Resources Govind Karjol, Minister for Housing V. Somanna, and the Chief Minister’s principal secretary were present.
Mr. Bommai will meet Union Minister Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, and other Ministers on Wednesday and urge them to clear pending projects.
