Shettar flays Centre's bias in granting funds

Rural development and panchayat raj minister Jagadeesh Shettar accused the Centre of meting out a step motherly treatment to Karnataka in granting funds under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

Speaking at a function to launch the work on conversion of Dharwad-Ramnagar road into double road at Alnavar on Sunday he said the Centre had rejected the Rs1,400 crore proposal for the ninth phase of 4,000 km of road upgrade works under the PMGSY. “The Centre had sanctioned funds till the 8th phase. The construction had finished in three phases and during the other phases upgrades had been made. Now the Centre is saying that the funds are meant only for construction and new roads, and not for upgrades. This is nothing but bias against Karnataka,” Shettar said.

He said the state would not be deterred by the Centre’s attitude. It will launch a Chief Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana (CMGSY) and continue the rural development work, he asserted.

Public works minister C M Udasi who performed the bhoomi pooja for work on the Dharwad-Ramnagar road, said the state government had taken up development of 653 kms of road in Karnataka at a cost of Rs1,500 crore with assistance from Asian Development Bank and the work is in progress. He said 13 major roads in North Karnataka will be upgraded. Udasi said the number of vehicles in the state had gone upto 4 million and there is a dire need to develop the roads to suit the changing demand. As such, taking up the works on some roads as toll-based roads had become inevitable. He said the regular commuters would be given concession in the toll while the two wheelers and tractors would be allowed to move toll free.

MP Prahlad Joshi explained the efforts put in by legislators and the people of the region in getting the Dharwad-Ramnagar road work sanctioned. He said the BJP government in the state was committed to developing infrastructure for enabling connectivity and road works were on priority.