Bengaluru (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in poll bound Karnataka's northern districts of Yadgiri and Kalaburagi on Thursday to lay foundation stone and inaugurate projects worth more than Rs 10,800 crores.
This will be the second such visit by the Prime Minister to Karnataka this month. He was in Hubballi on January 12 to inaugurate the National Youth Festival, during which he had held a massive road show.
According to an official release, at around 12 noon, in Kodekal, Yadgiri district, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate various developmental projects related to irrigation, drinking water besides a National Highway development project.
Later, at around 2:15 PM, Modi will reach Malkhed, Kalaburagi District, where he will distribute title deeds (hakku patra) to the eligible beneficiaries of newly declared revenue villages and also lay the foundation stone for a National Highway project.
The visit also gains significance, as the ruling BJP prepares for assembly polls in Karnataka and has set a target of winning a minimum of 150 out of total 224 seats which will go for polls by May.
Aimed at providing safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections to all households, Modi will lay the foundation stone for Yadgir multi-village drinking water supply scheme under Jal Jeevan Mission at Kodekal in Yadgiri District, also a Water Treatment Plant of 117 MLD will be built under the scheme.
The project, which costs more than Rs 2,050 crore, will provide potable water to about 2.3 lakh households of more than 700 rural habitations and three towns of Yadgiri district.
During the programme, the PM will also inaugurate Narayanpur Left Bank Canal Extension Renovation and Modernisation Project (NLBC ERM).
The project, with a canal carrying capacity of 10,000 cusecs, can irrigate 4.5 lakh hectares of command area. It will benefit more than three lakh farmers in 560 villages of Kalaburgi, Yadagir and Vijaypur districts. The total cost of the project is about Rs 4,700 crores.
Later, he will also lay the foundation stone of the 65.5 km section of NH-150C. This 6-lane Greenfield road project is part of Surat Chennai Expressway. It is being built at a cost of about Rs 2,000 crore.
Further pointing out that about 1,475 unrecorded habitations have been declared as New Revenue villages in five districts of Kalaburagi, Yadgiri, Raichur, Bidar and Vijayapura, the release said, at Malkhed village of Sedam Taluka of Kalaburagi district, the Prime Minister will distribute title deeds (hakku patra) to the eligible beneficiaries of these newly declared revenue villages.
The issuance of title deeds to more than 50,000 beneficiaries, who are largely from the marginalised and vulnerable communities from the SC, ST and OBC, is a step to provide a formal recognition from the government for their land, and will make them eligible for receiving government services like drinking water, electricity, roads etc.
During the programme, the Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of the 71 km section of NH-150C. This 6 lane Greenfield road project is also part of Surat Chennai Expressway. It is being built at a cost of more than Rs 2,100 crore.
Surat Chennai Expressway will pass through six states- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. It will reduce the existing route from 1,600 Kms to 1,270 Kms.
The PM after finishing with his engagements in Karnataka will leave for Mumbai.
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Bengaluru, Dec 7: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday said there won't be any political "witch hunting", while taking action on the recommendations of the Justice Michael D' Cunha Commission, which investigated alleged irregularities in the purchase of equipment and medicines during the Covid-19, when the BJP was in power.
Officials have been asked to take action "based on facts". A separate committee will be formed at the official level, also involving some retired officials, to look into the report, "for guiding and for follow up action", he said.
The cabinet sub-committee headed by Shivakumar constituted to take further action based on the report met here today to review.
"Today, we held a second cabinet sub-committee meeting...we have only reviewed. We have asked the officials to take action, as per law, based on the recommendations and findings of the Justice Michael D' Cunha Commission report," Shivakumar told reporters after the meeting.
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Departmental inquiries on officials will be done as per procedures. "Justice Cunha has also recommended criminal inquiry on some, that will also happen separately... legally whatever has to be done like -- booking FIR or disciplinary action or anything else, will be done in accordance with law," he said.
The sub-committee will once again meet in Belagavi and will review the progress. "The cabinet sub-committee will not be directly involved. Whatever the procedure is, the officials will do it themselves... we (govt) will not indulge in witch hunting, but we can't hush up or close what is there in the report...we have told officials to take action based on facts," Shivakumar said.
"We are looking into the recommendations of the committee. Officials are empowered and they will do their duty," he added.
The preliminary report was submitted by Justice Michael D' Cunha on August 31.
The government then decided to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and a cabinet sub-committee to take further action on the report.
To a question regarding constituting the SIT, Shivakumar said, "You will get to know. It is in process. Once it comes, we will release it."
The Deputy CM also said that the government has rejected a report on the death of several people due to oxygen shortage at Covid hospital in Chamarajanagar in May 2021. "We will have to re-look it."
"...our government doesn't agree with that report that there was nothing in the tragic death of 36 people in Chamarajanagar hospital. We will have to relook it. CM Siddaramaiah and I had assessed the situation there. We also had then visited the homes of 36 victims. But the then Minister (BJP government) had said that only three people had died due to oxygen shortage," he explained.
Shivakumar said, according to officials, the commission's reports point out that as many as 84 lakh RTPCR tests are said to have been done in Bengaluru city at a cost of Rs 502 crore. Rs 400 crore has already been released as well. "This means that two people from each household were subject to RTPCR tests."
Kidwai hospital alone is said to have conducted 24 lakh tests and billed Rs 146 crore. "I was panicked hearing this...officials told me this was mentioned by Cunha in the report... It means they have tested almost everyone in Bengaluru, this needs to be inquired," he said.
Last month, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the commission had recommended prosecution of the then Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and former minister B Sriramulu.
Asked whether there are names other than Yediyurappa and Sriramulu in the report, Shivakumarm said, "I don't want to disclose any names...officials will look into it, not us."