'Jaladhare' aimed at supplying quality drinking water to villages to be launched soon: Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru, October 02: Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that a detailed project report (DPR) was being prepared to launch ‘Jaladhare’ project aimed at supplying the quality drinking water to all villages in the state.
Inaugurating the Gandhi Gram Puraskar presentation programme organized by the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj department at the Banquet Hall at Vidhana Soudha here on Tuesday, the CM said that the Jaladhare programme would require more than Rs 60,000 crore and the project was aimed at providing quality drinking to the houses of each village in the state through taps from river water sources. Shortly, the details of the project would be placed before the people, he said.
The credit of introducing the decentralization of power to the nation should go to Karnataka. In 1984-85, then Panchayat Raj Minister Nazeer Saab in the chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde government had introduced decentralisation of power. Noticing that, then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had amended the Constitution and applied that system to the entire country, he added.
Then Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister in the erstwhile Congress government, HK Patil had started Gandhi Gram Puraskar from 2014 to honour the presidents and officers of the gram panchayats which work honestly and the coalition government has continued the award, the CM said.
The gram panchayats which have got the Gandhi Gram Puraskar during the 150th year Gandhi Jayanti would retain special memory. More than zilla and taluk panchayats, the gram panchayats would have more scope to develop the villages. The gram panchayats in and around Bengaluru would have more than Rs 5 crore revenue and they could do what the state government could not do. The gram panchayats have scope to reach the benefits to the people directly, the CM said.
Priority should be given to cleanliness in villages and gram panchayat presidents and PDOs have more responsibility. Desilting of tanks, clearing of encroachments, increasing the water storage capacity and other works to develop the villages, he said recalling the service of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said that each gram panchayat was like a government on the line of central and state governments. Identifying the best gram panchayats would inspire others to work more efficiently. For the drinking water schemes, the central government should give 70 per cent funds. But for the last four years, the centre has given just 12 per cent and remaining 88 per cent was being borne by the state government, he said.
MLA R Roshan Baig presided over the programme in which, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department Principal Secretary LK Atheek, Secretary Savithri, Director Kempe Gowda and others were present.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
