Karnataka   

‘No injustice will be done to the coastal region'

Traditional welcome: Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa at the Kukke Subrahmanya temple on Sunday.

KUKKE SUBRAHMANYA: Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa here on Sunday refrained from making it clear if the Government was intended to divert the Netravathi.

When presspersons asked him to specify why the Government had allocated Rs. 200 crore in the agriculture budget for 2011-12 for “making water available” from the Yettinahole canal, a tributary of the Netravathi, in the Western Ghats, the Chief Minister said that it was in the interest of the State as a whole. Mr. Yeddyurappa said that the government would ensure that no injustice was done to the coastal region.

He said that irrigation experts would be consulted before taking up the scheme.

It may be mentioned here that point No. 107 of the agriculture budget had masked Netravathi diversion issue under the headline, “National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA)”. But the explanation on the topic said: “A survey with the help of NRSA on diversion of water from the west-flowing rivers for drinking in Bangalore Urban and Rural, Tumkur, Chickballapur, Kolar and Chitradurga districts has been completed.”

It further read: “Action will be taken in phases to provide drinking water through pipelines, while ensuring that there is no damage to the environment. In the first phase, water will be made available from the Yettinahole canal. A sum of Rs. 200 crore has been provided for implementing this scheme through institutes with requisite expertise,” it said.

Speaking to presspersons here Sunday, the Chief Minister refused to elaborate further on allocating Rs. 200 crore for the scheme.

Revenue

Mr. Yeddyurappa said that the Government had collected Rs. 37,900 crore as revenue against the target of Rs. 36,218 crore in 2010-11. It mainly came from commercial taxes, excise and motor vehicle taxes. The revenue collection was up by 24 per cent, he said.

The Chief Minister claimed that the financial condition of the State was good. The revenue surplus of the State stood at Rs. 3,000 crore.

He said that the government would convene a meeting shortly on improving roads in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.

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