Bangalore, Feb 12: Even as the State is reeling under severe drought, the State government is all geared up to meet the forthcoming khariff season by distributing subsidised seeds worth Rs 50 crore to small and marginal farmers in 54 taluks of the drought affected districts. A decision to this effect was taken by the Cabinet meeting today.
Briefing reporters Information Minister Kagodu Thimmappa said that so far Rs 91 crore were spent for 65,675 drought relief works in the affected districts besides utilising two lakh tons of foodgrain creating 3.93 crore man days or work.
He said that the State had requested the centre for the second installment of three lakh tons of foodgrain of which 1.65 lakh ton had been allotted of which 1.15 lakh tons had been lifted and the balance would be lifted from the nearest Food Corporation of India godowns.
The Cabinet also granted Rs 1 crore to an Institute for Steel Studies to be set up in the iron belt of Thoranagal in Bellary district.
The Institute to be set up at a cost of Rs 10 crore has been named after the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The institute will be headed by a noted steel expert Dr R S Gupta.
He said the Cabinet also approved the World Bank-assisted Jalasamvardhana scheme of desilting irrigation tanks in nine districts of the State at a cost of Rs 670 crore. World Bank was to provide Rs 530 crore, the State government Rs 113 and Rs 26 crore as people’s contribution for the project under which 2,000 tanks would be desilted over the next four years benefitting 72,000 hectares of land.
The Cabinet also approved a Rs 189 crore scheme for providing 5,000 houses to policemen across the State. The loan would be availed from Urban Development Corporation, LIC and HDFC for the purpose. The cabinet also decided to release 75 prisoners on humanitarian grounds on March 1. They include six women prisoners who have completed more than six years of jail term and male prisoners who have completed 10 years. The Cabinet also decided to drop the case of illegal tapping of power by a resort slapped on Hindi actor Sanjay Khan (who owns the resort) following a settlement with the Electricity Corporation.
Mr Khan had deposited Rs 9 lakh for power connection for the resort owned by him of which Rs 7.72 lakh had been deducted, Mr Thimmappa said. The case was legally examined and it was decided to withdraw it, he added. A committee for implementation of the D M Nanjundappa panel report on regional imbalance has been formed under the chairmanship of Chief Minister S M Krishna. The Raja Ramanna Task Force on Education has been given an extension up to March 31, 2003.
The cadre and recruitment rules for the recruitment of fire personnel has been amended to revise the minimum qualification from seventh standard to SSLC for firemen.
Bureau Report
