Karnataka region expects more aid from new govt

With the Congress forming the new government headed by Siddramaiah in Karnataka, the people in North Karnataka are hoping that several issues haunting the region would be resolved.

The project of diverting the water from Kalasa and Banduri streams to Malaprabha to solve the problem of drinking water is a key issue the people expect to be solved. The Goan government has put a hurdle to the implementation of the Kalasa Banduri Nala project by approaching the Supreme Court saying that the project would be detrimental to the interest of Goa.

The Congress leaders in North Karnataka who have actually envisioned the scheme have an opportunity now to exert pressure on Goa government through the Central government and get the issue resolved, said farmers leader Vijay Kulkarni who has led the agitation for the implementation of the project.

Another issue that needs the initiation and action by the state government is getting Hubli-Dharwad included in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The Union ministry of urban development has been working on inclusion of more cities for development under the JNNURM and the people in Hubli-Dharwad are expecting the twin cities to be included in the list. In the absence of political pressure from the state the twin cities had missed out on the chance last time. The citizens want the elected representatives from Karnatak cutting across party barriers to put pressure on the Centre to include Hubli-Dharwad for the implementation of the project.

Earlier, the Planning Commissioner had rejected the states proposal to include 28 cities having a population of 500,000 under the JNNURM citing resource constraints as a challenge.

The Union Ministry of Urban Development has proposed to include 28 cities or urban agglomerations with population of 500,000 and above under the Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) of the JNNURM. Hubli-Dharwad is emerging as the second cultural and commercial hub of Karnataka and JNNURM could change the face of the twin city completely. If included Hubli-Dharwad could get assistance to the tune of Rs 500 crore in course of seven years and develop the infrastructure.

This would enable to attract investments and generate employment opportunities.