64 gram panchayats to be upgraded into taluk panchayats

Udupi, Apr 25, 2015, DHNS:

Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake said as many as 64 gram panchayats in State would be upgraded into town panchayat.

Speaking after inaugurating various development projects under Suvarna Gramodyaya Yojane here at Hebri, he said the announcement pertaining to upgradation of gram panchayats into town panchayaths would be made prior to gram panchayat polls. 

He said the Congress government in State has ensured fulfillment of 95 assurances out of 165 assurances, the party made during the poll, which was mentioned in the poll manifesto. He said the farmers and the members of SHGs are receiving loans at concessional rates. The programmes like Revenue Adalath, Pension Adalath, Annabhagya, Akrama-Sakrama are all aiding the idea of poverty alleviation.

Calling upon the people in Hebri and surrounding areas not to panic against the implementation of Tiger Reserve project, he said the project would be opposed. The central government has already approved the implementation of the project in this region, however the project would be opposed strongly. 

He said all measures are taken to eliminate the wrong impression created among mass against the recommendations made in the Kasturirangan report. He said the opinion from villagers in the affected areas is compiled and is sent to the central government. 

He said an appeal is made to the central government over considering the reserve forest area and wildlife reserve forest area to implement the recommendations made in the report, he added. He said the multi village drinking water scheme in Hebri would be completed immediately. He said as many as 100 houses would be built in Chara village, he added.

60% work on Varahi project completed

THE HINDU - April 13, 2015

Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake has said that nearly 60 per cent of the work on the Varahi Irrigation Project in Udupi district had been completed.

He was speaking after inaugurating various development works initiated by the Amasebail Charitable Trust along with the Amasebail Gram Panchayat, Karnataka Bank Ltd., Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project here recently.

Mr. Sorake said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would inaugurate the first phase of the Varahi Irrigation Project, which was expected to provide irrigation to about 3,000 hectares of land, on April 20. The Varahi project, for which foundation stone had been laid 35 years ago, progressed at a snail’s pace, but the work has picked up speed in the last two years.

He visited 16 gram panchayats in the district a few weeks ago, to gather the opinions of the people about the K. Kasturirangan Panel’s Report on Conservation of Western Ghats. The State government in its report to the Centre recommended that habitations of people on the borders of the Ghats should not be disturbed. The existing forest area could be conserved, he said.

Mr. Sorake said that gram panchayats had little funds. They were now restricting their activities only to holding gram sabhas for selection of beneficiaries. They should focus on development activities, he said.

Presiding over the function, N. Santosh Hegde, former Lokayukta, said that when he was the Lokayukta of the State, he had submitted reports on illegal mining and illegal sand mining. But the State had not taken any action on them. The government should either accept or reject the reports instead of keeping them in a limbo, he said. There were two times more the number of below the poverty line (BPL) cards in the State than the number of BPL persons, he said.

Kota Srinivas Poojary, MLC, said the State government should fully implement the Ramesh Kumar Committee Report that had suggested amendments to the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act. This would go a long way in strengthening the gram panchayats. Fighting corruption was a tough job no matter which party was in power, he said.

Rs. 200-crore plan to develop Kaup segment

The Hindu - April 5, 2015

Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake said on Saturday that a plan of Rs. 200 crore had been drawn up for the integrated development of Kaup Assembly Constituency.

He was speaking after distributing various facilities to beneficiaries at the Uliyargoli Gram Panchayat. He also inaugurated the commercial complex of the gram panchayat and other works on the occasion. Mr. Sorake said that Kaup was developing at a faster rate. Hence he had urged the State government to make Kaup a Town Municipal Council (TMC) by including nearby gram panchayats.

The State government was expected to issue a notification to this effect soon. Once Kaup became a TMC, it would get a grant of Rs. 20 crore.

This would also help in constructing and widening roads in the region.A project of Rs. 52 crore had been prepared to provide drinking water facility in Uliyargoli and nearby areas from Manipura village. An amount of Rs. 31 crore would be spent on constructing underground drainage system and installing a water purification facility in the region.

Mangalore University would be setting its study centre at Belapu village at a cost of Rs. 123 crore.

An industrial development area would also come near Belapu at a cost of Rs. 68 crore.

An action plan had been prepared for the development of Kaup Beach to promote tourism. A stadium would be constructed in Kaup at a cost of Rs. 3 crore, while the Government Hospital there would be upgraded at a cost of Rs. 2 crore, Mr. Sorake said.

Pradeep, president of Uliyargoli Gram Panchayat, Sharada, Vice President, Katapady Shankar Poojary, Zilla Panchayat member, Diwaker Shetty, Jagadish, Arun Shetty, Kavita, Taluk Panchayat members, were present.

Control room to address water complaints launched

Bengaluru: March 31, 2015: DHNS

The centralised control room and response centre (CCRRC) of Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB) to address the needs of 213 urban local bodies, except BBMP, was launched in the City on Monday.

The control room will address all water-related problems of people. Consumers can not only make a call to the round-the-clock CCRRC servers, but also send an SMS or WhatsApp.  The control room number is 080-40001000. WhatsApp messages can be sent or calls can be made to 9880655555. The SMSes can be sent to 9220092200 in prescribed format - TEXT WATER . Complaints can also be emailed to waterboard161@gmail.com or by logging on to ocr.kuwsdb.org. 

Complaints can be lodged in any Indian language. They can seek help on any water-related issue, including tender document details, no water supply in the area, contractor problem, meter-related problem, unhygienic water supply and many others. Complaints from BBMP limits will not be entertained as it already has a dedicated helpline - 080-22238888. 

Complaints will be allotted a docket number. Through this, the complainant can track where the complaint has reached and what is the status. 

Speaking to media on the sidelines of the inauguration of the CCRRC, Urban Development Minister Vinaykumar Sorake said that this was a first-of-its-kind service in India and was open to everybody. The control rooms also provide information pertaining to KUWSDB and its ongoing works.

KUWSDB chairman G C Chandrashekar, who was present on the occasion, said talks were on with the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department to include the village water supply details under the control room’s purview. It will also help the head office staffers co-ordinate with field staff on how projects are being executed. Through this, projects can be monitored and feedback from consumers on quality and maintenance can be obtained. The centralised control room and response centre (CCRRC) of Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB) to address the needs of 213 urban local bodies, except BBMP, was launched in the City on Monday.

The control room will address all water-related problems of people. Consumers can not only make a call to the round-the-clock CCRRC servers, but also send an SMS or WhatsApp.  The control room number is 080-40001000. WhatsApp messages can be sent or calls can be made to 9880655555. The SMSes can be sent to 9220092200 in prescribed format - TEXT WATER . Complaints can also be emailed to waterboard161@gmail.com or by logging on to ocr.kuwsdb.org. 

Complaints can be lodged in any Indian language. They can seek help on any water-related issue, including tender document details, no water supply in the area, contractor problem, meter-related problem, unhygienic water supply and many others. Complaints from BBMP limits will not be entertained as it already has a dedicated helpline - 080-22238888. 

Complaints will be allotted a docket number. Through this, the complainant can track where the complaint has reached and what is the status. 

Speaking to media on the sidelines of the inauguration of the CCRRC, Urban Development Minister Vinaykumar Sorake said that this was a first-of-its-kind service in India and was open to everybody. The control rooms also provide information pertaining to KUWSDB and its ongoing works.

KUWSDB chairman G C Chandrashekar, who was present on the occasion, said talks were on with the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department to include the village water supply details under the control room’s purview. It will also help the head office staffers co-ordinate with field staff on how projects are being executed. Through this, projects can be monitored and feedback from consumers on quality and maintenance can be obtained.