Declare upper Bhadra, UKP as national projects: Yediyurappa

BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Saturday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the Upper Krishna and Upper Bhadra projects in the state as national projects. During the sixth meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog held virtually on Saturday, the CM also sought central assistance for a number of projects in the state. 

Sources in the Water Resources Department said the process of declaring the Upper Bhadra Project as national project has already been initiated and it is likely to be declared soon. Once it is done, the Central Government will provide nearly 90 per cent of funds for the projects, the sources said.

During the NITI Aayog meeting, the CM also sought approval for six proposals worth Rs 6,673 crore for modernisation of canals and additional grants were also sought for river diversion projects.  The State Government also requested the Centre to provide Rs 4,300 crore to create an optical fibre network to provide connectivity to all government offices.

The CM also pitched for setting up a mechanism to fast-track disposal of cases in courts as infrastructure projects are hampered due to litigation and environmental protests. The State also sought financial support to take up initiatives under the National Educational Policy.

Task force set up to boost integrated farming: CM

While the PM asked the states to focus on ease of doing business as well as on ease of living, he was briefed about initiatives taken by the Karnataka government for industrial development, including affidavit-based clearance system, steps taken to promote exports, MoUs with e-commerce firms like Amazon and Flipkart to boost marketing of local products.

“Karnataka has been able to maintain one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country at 3.6 per cent. A task force to promote integrated farming system has been set up and growing millets is being promoted to improve nutrition levels,” Yediyurappa noted. The chief mini s ter also informed that the State Government intends to set up Scientific Marketing Intelligence Cell in order to shift focus on income-based policy t o increase farmers’ incomes.

The government also intended to create an online marketing platform for surplus fruits and vegetables, supported by infrastructure facilities, under the Atmanirbhar scheme and a water security plan is being developed in 41 over-exploited taluks under Atal Bahu Jal Yojna. The state also plans to follow NITI Aayog’s 49 aspirational indicators to monitor the progress of 114 backward taluks, he added.