Budgetary allocation for the Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board (KKRDB) will be doubled to ₹3,000 crore provided the board fully utilises the funds allocated for 2021–22 before March-end, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said.
Addressing a gathering after unfurling the national flag during the Kalyana Karnataka Liberation Day celebrations (Kalyana Karnataka Utsav) at the District Armed Reserved police grounds here on Friday, the Chief Minister said the government was ready to increase the allocation for the KKRDB for the overall development of the region if it utilised the funds allocated for the current financial year.
“A sum of ₹2,000 crore was lying unspent with the board and nearly 13,000 works taken up by it were under progress. The board has to spend the ₹2,000 crore by the end of March to get the budgetary allocation doubled,” Mr. Bommai reiterated.
The government would also revise the indicators mentioned in the Nanjundappa Committee’s recommendations and development works would be fast-tracked, Mr. Bommai said and promised that a KKRDB cell would be established in Kalaburagi to supervise the works taken up under the board’s grant and also a permanent secretary would be appointed.
Poor healthcare facilities
Expressing his concern over the poor healthcare facilities and quality of education in the region, he said that KKRDB would chalk out programmes to check maternal mortality rate (MMR) and child mortality rate (CMR) in the region and programmes would be launched to improve the quality of education and address the issue of school dropouts. Mr. Bommai said that focus on health and education was a nation-building strategy. The BJP-led government had strived for the overall development of the State and we would take up the responsibility of building “Nava Karnataka”, he added.
The State government was committed to speedily implementing all major irrigation projects in the region, he said, and added that the proposed Pharma Park in Yadgir district had evoked interest among pharmaceutical companies and a mega textile park at Kalaburagi would boost industrialisation and generate employment.
Apart from teacher recruitment for the region, posts lying vacant in various departments would be filled immediately, he said.
The Chief Minister said cement industries in Kalaburagi district had failed to spend their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds during the pandemic. He urged the industries having operations in the district to spend their CSR funds for development of the region.
In an hour-long speech, Mr. Bommai lauded the contributions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and other freedom fighters towards the liberation of the Kalyana Karnataka (Hyderabad Karnataka) from the rule of Nizam of Hyderabad. He also thanked the former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa for renaming Hyderabad Karnataka as Kalyana Karnataka.
Minister for Large and Medium Industries and district in charge Murugesh Nirani, KKRDB chairman Dattatreya Patil Revoor, KKRTC chairman Rajkumar Patil Telkur, and other legislatures were present.
