The State government will open branches of all important offices of Rural Development Department at the Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa said here on Monday.
He was speaking at a meeting of presidents and vice-presidents of all zilla panchayats in the State at the Suvarna Soudha.
“Development of North Karnataka is a long-standing demand. We are committed to developing this region. As a first step, we will set up all important offices of rural development in the Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi,” he said.
These offices will cater to demands for drinking water, roads and other infrastructure and important schemes such as MGNREGA.
Senior officers will be posted here with all necessary powers to ensure effective decentralisation, he said.
He asked presidents and vice-presidents of zilla panchayats to join hands with the State government in ensuring the all-round development of the State.
He said that the State government had decided to double the “untied” grants of zilla and taluk panchayats. The first instalment of the revised funds have already been released.
Apart from this, each gram panchayat is getting ₹ 1 lakh for sanitation, he said. “We are yet to reach the goal of a complete open defecation-free State. We have to introspect about it,” he said. He asked zilla panchayat heads to work in coordination with MLAs and other elected representatives.
As many as 609 lakes have been damaged in the recent floods. Roads to a length of 5,600 km have been damaged. All these will be repaired on priority, he said.
Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi released a booklet about the release of funds to gram panchayats.
He announced that the Union government plans to construct houses for the poor as part of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Union government will invest up to ₹ 50 lakh crore in the Railways in the next 10 years, Mr. Angadi said. All Central assistance to villages will, henceforth, be released directly to gram panchayats, he said.
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department officers were present.