Karnataka - Bidar   

Rajasekharan favours interlinking of rivers

BIDAR: Union Minister of State for Planning M.V. Rajasekharan has said that interlinking of rivers will benefit Karnataka.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Mr. Rajasekharan said that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had stressed on interlinking of rivers, while his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had expressed “reservations”.

Mr. Rajasekharan felt the need to create awareness on interlinking of rivers in the country.

He said that the Union Government had an outlay of Rs. 36 lakh crore for the Eleventh Five Year Plan. While Rs. 14 lakh crore would be given directly to States, two-thirds of it would be allocated for education, health, agriculture, rural development, among others.

Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had said that there was no paucity of funds, but projects needed to be implemented effectively, he said. Mr. Rajasekharan said that funds would be pumped in for speeding up of ‘delayed’ projects. He wanted the State to utilise funds under the Accelerated Irrigation Scheme on irrigation projects effectively.

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