'Inter-State Water Disputes Act' needs to be totally amended: Karnataka CM Bommai
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said the 'Inter-State Water Disputes Act' needs to be totally amended, as it creates more disputes than resolving them.
He was addressing the southern states' conclave on the 'Jal Jeevan Mission' and 'Swachh Bharat Mission' (Rural) Projects here.
"Our Inter-State Water Disputes Act needs to be totally amended. The name itself says interstate water disputes act. It creates more disputes than solving disputes. We need correction in our law so that more water is available for different sections of people, instead of narrow political considerations," Bommai said.
He claimed that river basin management is the only answer for that. Stressing on the need for high quality efficiency in irrigation, the CM said there is misutilisation of a lot of water in irrigation.
He said, "our canal carrying capacity at the national level is not more than 45 per cent , so there is a gap of almost 55 per cent in our canal carrying capacity. Once we improve all these things a lot of water will be available."
Also noting that we are facing environmental challenges, he said the perennial rivers are turning into seasonal rivers, and rivers are drying up even before reaching the sea.
Assuring relentless efforts for time bound implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission projects in Karnataka, Bommai said, of the 97.91 lakh rural households, tapped water has to be provided for 25 lakh households in the initial phase, while the achievement has been about 18 lakh, and the target of 25 lakh would be met within the next few months.
".... more funds have been provided in the budget for implementing the project. I am personally overseeing the project to see to it that it will be completed in time," he said, adding that next year's target will 100 percent be met on time.
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Padma awardees in Odisha to receive monthly honorarium of Rs 30,000
Bhubaneswar, Jan 16 (PTI): The Odisha government will provide a monthly honorarium of Rs 30,000 to each of the Padma awardees of the state from the current month.
The Odia Language Literature and Culture Department issued a notification to this effect on Thursday.
In view of their outstanding contribution to society in various fields, the state government has decided to provide an honorarium of Rs 30,000 to the Padma awardees, the notification said.
All the Padma awardees of the state, who are alive, will receive the honorarium through direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode from January 2025, it said.
The government has asked collectors and culture officers of all districts to submit details of the Padma award winners (who are alive) including the district collector's certificate, bank account details, IFSC code to the Directorate of Odia, Language, Literature and Culture as soon as possible.
In March last year, the previous BJD government had announced a monthly honorarium of Rs 25,000 for the Padma awardees from Odisha. However, it was not implemented yet, an official of the department said.
In November last year, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had decided to provide Rs 30,000 to the Padma awardees of the state. Accordingly, the formal notification was published on Thursday, he said.
The Padma Award was introduced in 1954. The award is given to personalities for their outstanding contribution in the fields of arts, education, science, sports, social work, public service, medicine, literature, etc.
As per the Padma Awards website of the Ministry of Home Affairs, till now, the President has conferred Padma awards on 105 eminent personalities from Odisha, which includes 90 Padma Shri, 11 Padma Bhushan and four Padma Vibhushan.
