Less than 50% of the community halls approved since 2008 have been completed across the State.
Providing details about the community halls being constructed for Scheduled Caste and Tribe communities, Social Welfare Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary told the Legislative Council on Friday that 7,352 bhavans have been approved since 2008. “Of these, just 2,746 have been completed,” he said.
Indicating that the funds could be otherwise used for housing projects, Mr. Poojary said that 5.5 lakh SC families do not have homes and 4.5 lakh families do not even have land. “Instead of the bhavans, we should focus on providing homes, electricity, water and other infrastructure,” he said.
Explaining the reasons for non-completion of the approved bhavans, the Minister said that buildings have remained incomplete after coming up on lands without proper documents and overshooting of the approved budget. “Legislators should stop asking for more and allow these bhavans to be completed,” he said.
In response, Congress member Dharmasena, who had raised the issue, said, “Use earthmoving machines to demolish half-constructed community halls if they cannot be completed. Allow our community children to use the land as playgrounds,” he said.
Earlier, he had estimated that ₹7,000 crore was needed to complete the community halls meant for SC communities across Karnataka.
Mr. Poojary said that he would bring the matter to the attention of the Chief Minister to find a solution.
