Over 73,000 people from the State have benefited from 'Ayushman Bharat- Arogya Karnataka' scheme in the current year, said Governor Vajubhai Vala during his Republic Day address at the Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground here on Saturday. The scheme provides 100 per cent financial assistance for medical treatments up to ₹ 5 lakh for Below Poverty Line families and 30 per cent of government package rates with overall annual limit of ₹ 1.5 lakh for Above Poverty Line (APL) families.

In his fourth Republic Day address, after unfurling the national flag and inspecting the guard of honour, Mr. Vala said that the state was restoring critical infrastructure such as roads and bridges in flood affected areas in Kodagu district. The State government has also taken up work of constructing 840 houses at a cost of ₹ 9.85 lakh per house, he added.

Stating that the State was facing severe drought, he said, a total of 100 taluks during Kharif and 156 Taluks during Rabi had been declared drought-affected.

On implementation of farm loan-waiver, the Governor said that the State government has released ₹ 876 crore towards waiver of 1.1 lakh co-operative bank loans and 58,000 commercial bank loans.

Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, toilets have built for 70.26 lakh families in the state. The rural Karnataka has already been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF). “So far, 172 cities have been certified as ODF cities. The state is aiming to declare all the 279 cities of Karnataka as ODF by March, 2019.”

Housing project

Under the Chief Minister's one lakh housing scheme, a target has been set to provide 20 lakh houses for the next five years. The state government has already identified land to construct Ground + 14 floor apartments. Each dwelling will cost ₹ 8 lakh.

The state has given its approval for 1,958 projects with an investment of ₹3.49 lakh crore under industrial policy of 2014-19.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswmay, Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.