Rs 550 cr in Karnataka budget for sustainable farming
Bengaluru, July 5: The Karnataka budget for 2018-19 on Thursday allocated Rs 550-crore for progressive and sustainable farming after waiving a whopping Rs 34,000 crore loans of 17-lakh farmer families across the state.
Presenting a pro-farmer budget in the assembly, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who holds the Finance portfolio, told lawmakers that Israeli model of sustainable irrigation could suit the state's farmers in improving their lives.
"I visited Israel last year and studied their farm practices myself. I have no doubt that Israeli model of irrigation would protect the crops and make farmers' lives better," he said in his two-hour long budget speech.
The budget allocated Rs 150 crore for creating Israeli model of irrigation, which makes use of drip irrigation methods to conserve water, in 5,000 hectares of dry land in each of the districts of Kolar, Chitradurga, Koppal and Gadag.
Another Rs 150 crore has been set aside to implement the same model of farming in 5,000 hectares land in each of Karwar, Tumkur, Yadgir and Haveri districts.
The Chief Minister proposed that the state implements zero budget natural farming on the lines of Andhra Pradesh for better yields with lesser investment.
Rs 50 crore was allocated to implement zero budget natural farming in the state, with the support of United Nations Environment Programme which is offering technical assistance through Sustainable India Finance Facility.
The budget also made Rs 190 crore provision for coconut farmers, who have been witnessing unproductive crops due to shortage of rain in the state.
In health sector, the budget made provisions of Rs 10 crore for strengthening drug control, Rs 30 crore for heart, kidney, liver transplantation for the poor, Rs 40 crore for a 300 bed super speciality hospital in Ramanagara, and Rs 200 crore for new hospitals in Gadag, Koppal, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Belagavi, Mysuru and Kalaburagi.
Mother and child health services and mental health protection services will be integrated with the Emergency Response Services available through ambulance and helpline numbers, Kumaraswamy said.
The Chief Minister announced Rs 150 crore package for infrastructure repairs of state-run primary schools, high schools and pre-university college buildings.
Another Rs 250 crore was set aside for development and infrastructure repairs of state-run graduate and post-graduate colleges.
Classes in English medium will be held along with Kannada in 1,000 state-run primary schools on an experiment basis, which will attract children to state-run schools, Kumaraswamy said.
The budget provided Rs 5 crore to install biometric instruments in all 48,000 government schools of the state to monitor the attendance of teachers and students.
Through the 'Chief Minister's Mathrusree Scheme' announced in the budget, Rs 1,000 per month will be transferred to the bank account of pregnant women from below poverty line (BPL) families for three months prior to the delivery and three months for the lactating mother, Kumaraswamy said.
Rs 350 crore has been earmarked for the scheme, which will be implemented from November 1.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
