District in-charge and Minister for Women and Child Welfare Shashikala Jolle criticised BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal for saying that the party was planning to replace Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa with a leader from North Karnataka.
She said that Mr. Yediyurappa would complete his remaining term of three years in office and there would be no change. He is managing COVID-19 very well and providing calamity relief in a commendable manner, she added.
Mr. Yediyurappa, who was supposed to hold a meeting of officers in Alamatti, cancelled his visit citing bad weather. He flew over some flood-affected areas along the Bhima river in Vijayapura district before conducting an aerial survey over Kalaburagi district.
About Mr. Yatnal’s concern that the Chief Minister had withdrawn ₹ 125 crore released to city corporations, she said that the funds were likely to be restored as the issue was being discussed at the highest level of the government.
She said that the State Cabinet would discuss flood relief and related issues at its next meeting. She said that she would ask her Cabinet colleagues to urge the Union government to declare the floods as a national emergency. That would enable the Centre to provide additional funds to the State, she said.
She said that a committee of senior officers would look into the allegations that Irrigation Department officers had committed an error by which additional water was released from the Sonna barrage on the Bhima river, causing floods in the command areas. On the face of it, it looks as if there has been a mistake. A technical committee will decide it and find out which officers are responsible for lapses, if any, she said.
She said that the government would form a committee to see that irrigation officers from Karnataka and Maharashtra worked in coordination over water discharge and other issues in the Bhima river basin, on the lines of the committee for the Krishna basin.
According to her, 28 villages on the banks of the Bhima were affected and the initial estimate of loss has been put at ₹ 625 crore. A detailed survey will finalise the loss, she said.
