The State government will construct lodging facilities in a few pilgrimage centres outside Karnataka to cater exclusively to pilgrims from the State, Muzrai Minister Prakash B Hukkeri announced on Thursday.
Hukkeri told reporters here that pilgrimage centres frequented by people from the State such as Pandharpur (Maharashtra), Srisailam and Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) will be chosen for construction of “Yatrinivas.”
Grants of Rs 15 crore has been approved for the project, he said. The extension of Karnataka Bhavan with lodging facilities in Tirupati will be taken up soon, he said.
He said the State government grants for the ‘Aradhana’ scheme for construction or renovation of temples in colonies of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes would be increased from the present Rs 3 lakh to Rs 20 lakh per annum to each of the 224 Assembly constituencies in the State.
The government will also issue an order to increase the tastik amount (annual maintenance grants) being given to muzrai temples from Rs 12,000 to Rs 24,000 per annum.
There are around 36,000 temples in the State. A decision to hike the tastik amount was taken by the previous BJP government ahead of the Assembly polls but could not be implemented due to the model code of conduct.
Hukkeri, who is also the minister for Small Scale Industries (SSIs), said the government will soon take a delegation to New Delhi to impress upon the Centre to increase the subsidy provided to SSIs with Rs one crore capital, from the existing 15 per cent to 20 per cent.
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