Expressing discontent over the Union government not releasing drought relief to farmers in the State, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said that the State government rescued farmers in distress by paying ₹2,000 to every farmer hit by drought.
He added that the payment process has already begun and it will be completed within a couple of days.
He was speaking at a meeting convened to review his department’s progress at the district administrative complex in Kalaburagi on Wednesday.
Attributing the better relief coverage to the increased Aadhaar-bank account linkage, Mr. Byre Gowda said that the Aadhaar-bank account linkage has increased to 80% from 60% which has resulted in 80% of eligible farmers getting relief through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
Revenue courts
Speaking on litigation pending before Executive Magistrates, Mr. Byre Gowda said that the number of pending cases before Tahsildars in Kalaburagi district has come down to 294 cases from 790 cases in the last six months.
“Not just in Kalaburagi, the number of cases pending for more than a year has come down to around 34,000 from around 60,000 in the State in the last six months. To that extent, I am satisfied with the performance of revenue courts,” he said.
‘Develop kindness’
Terming Revenue Department as the mother of all departments, the Minister advised the department’s officers to be big-hearted with people who come to offices for getting work done.
“People often visit the Revenue Department as they have relatively more work there compared to other departments. Don’t force them to run from pillar to post. Don’t harass them in the name of documentation. You need to be big-hearted, in handling them,” he said.
“What does it mean that people travel 600 km to reach Bengaluru and meet the Chief Minister with a request to resolve small issues like mutation and survey of their land, which could be easily resolved at the taluk and district levels? If you work properly and display the kind-heartedness at the grassroots level, people need not travel all the way to Bengaluru,” he said.
Task force meetings
Pointing to the possible drinking water crisis in Kalaburagi district during summer, the Minister directed the officers to convene task force meetings and attend to drinking water issues on priority basis.
“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has directed officers to attend to drinking water issues within 24 hours. There is no dearth of funds in the State for the purpose. There is around ₹61 crore in the Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner’s account. Drilling borewells might not be a good idea as the groundwater table has gone further down. It is better to find surface water sources and supply water to places in need through tankers,” he said.
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister and Kalaburagi in-charge Priyank Kharge, legislators M.Y. Patil and Kaneez Fatima, Revenue Department Secretary Sunil Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Tarannum, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Bhanwar Singh Meena and others were present.
