₹1 crore per constituency to tackle drinking water issues, says CM

“The State government will release ₹1 crore per Assembly constituency for taking up drinking water supply works immediately,” Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said in Belagavi on Thursday.

He told reporters that this will be apart from the money in the personal deposit accounts of Deputy Commissioners in each district. He clarified that these funds will be meant for rural areas and the drinking water scarcity in urban areas will be dealt with later.

“Most parts of the State, except a few districts of Kittur Karnataka, are facing drought-like conditions. Among drought relief works, drinking water supply is of top most priority. We will take all steps to ensure that no city or village suffers from drinking water scarcity,” he said.

He said that some MLAs have complained to him that in around 40 places, forest officials have objected to laying of pipes in forest areas for drinking water projects.

“I have directed Forest Department officers not to interfere with the installation of underground pipelines for drinking water supply projects. Forest officers will also be asked to speed up clearances for water supply to schools and other vital installations,” he said.

He said that he has instructed forest officers not to displace forest dwellers and that their applications for regularisation of unauthorised cultivation of land should not be rejected or ignored.

“The Ayodhya Sri Ram Temple funds embezzlement is a warning for all of us. In order to see that such incidents do not occur in the State, we are taking certain steps. We will install CCTVs in all strategic places in all temples under the endowment department. The feed from the CCTVs will be sent to the Police Department and the Deputy Commissioner’s office. Senior officers will monitor activities in the temples,” he said.

“Some MLAs have been demanding cloud seeding in drought-hit areas. A decision will be taken after discussing the issue with officials and experts,” he said.

Mr. Shivakumar said that Karnataka, Andhra and Telangana have jointly agreed to the project to link the Krishna, the Cauvery and the Godavari rivers.

“This is a historic decision. We have communicated our consent to the Union government,” he said.