Karnataka   

Lack of commitment can impede progress: B.K. Chandrashekar

KUSHALNAGAR (KODAGU DISTRICT): Politicians and Government officials should have commitment to implement welfare schemes for the people and usher in development, chairman of the State Legislative Council, B.K. Chandrashekar, observed here on Friday.

Prof. Chandrashekar was inaugurating “Bharat Nirman”, a public information campaign to apprise the people of the various significant programmes of the Union Government.

If the Metro Rail project had not taken off in Bangalore or roads not constructed to the Devanahalli airport, it was due to the lack of commitment of the powers-that-be, Prof. Chandrashekar said.

If the performance of the State with regard to roads and drinking water supply was not up to the mark, it spoke of the callousness of the people who have been in power.

That was the reason why Karnataka could not provide good roads in comparison with the neighbouring States of Kerala or Tamil Nadu. Incidentally, providing all-weather roads is one of the goals of the “Bharat Nirman” programme.

He urged the people to keep an eye on the quality of works that are being taken up under government schemes and devise ways to check corruption.

An old woman sprang up a surprise when she started blaming the political system for failing to provide a house and other benefits to her. “I have taken it seriously,” Prof. Chandrashekar said.

He did not agree that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) had failed to achieve the objective and said it was a demand-driven project of the Union Government. Whoever wanted it could take it and the scheme had succeeded in many places.

His reaction came to a question that the scheme had failed in Kodagu as only Rs. 74 was being given as wage under the scheme.

Labourers in Kodagu earned more than Rs. 150 in coffee plantations.

He would try to get the wage component increased as also remove restrictions that only 10 per cent of the funds allotted could be used for the construction/repair of roads.

Lauding women, representing various Stree Shakti groups, who were present at the venue, Prof. Chandrashekar said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had affirmed that the Women’s Reservation Bill would come up before Parliament in the next session.

Genuine women empowerment was possible, thanks to the advent of the panchayati raj system.

The former Minister, B.A. Jivijaya, was critical of the officials in Kodagu saying “we have failed to implement the programmes enunciated by the Union and the State Governments.”

He took exception saying the road projects in Kodagu had ended in a fiasco owing to rainfall. Mr. Jivijaya wanted to know why housing schemes were a failure in Kodagu.

Why were the officials not enforcing the Karnataka Land Revenue Act of 1964 in Kodagu, he asked. The next four days of the campaign should focus on the problems of the farmers, he said.

Deputy Commissioner K.R. Niranjan said the thrust on providing fundamental facilities in rural areas assumed significance to prevent migration of people to urban centres.

Issues such as health, education, sanitation, drinking water needed to be addressed to develop rural areas. Economic liberalisation had changed the face of the country since 1991, he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Kodagu Zilla Panchayat, K.R. Sundar, said emphasis would be laid under the “Bharat Nirman” programme to develop roads, improve drinking water system and sanitation.

Other speakers were the president of the ZP, Deerghakeshi Shivanna, the former MLA from Somwarpet, M.P. Appachu Ranjan, and the zilla panchayat member, V.P. Shashidhar.

M. Nagendraswamy, Director of the Press Information Bureau, welcomed the gathering. Cultural troupes participated in the jatha taken out in the town in the morning. Most of the stalls set up at the venue remained empty.

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