Drought: Revanna seeks Rs 4-cr for each taluk

MLA H D Revanna urged the State government to include Channarayapatna and Arsikere taluks in the drought-hit taluk list and also to release Rs 4 crore relief funds to all taluks which are reeling under drought.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, he said the government should not wait for the Union government to release the funds and immediately sanction Rs 4 crore to each taluk to take up alternative measures to tackle the situation.

The norms of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme should be relaxed, he suggested and added that they may be utilised to take up permanent works for the development of the taluks.

He suspected a conspiracy of the local leaders in finalising the list and ignoring Arsikere and Channarayapatna taluks. The government should not politicise the issue and include them in the list to protect the interests of the farmers, he added.

Lecturers
Revanna highlighted the shortage of lecturers in most of the government colleges and its impact on students.

“The government should take measures to recruit lecturers. A proposal submitted for a women’s college at an estimated cost of Rs 8 crore should be approved,” the
legislator stressed.

Compensation
In all, 26 farmers have committed suicide in the district. But the families of only four farmers have been compensated so far. If the district administration fails to distribute compensation to the rest of the families at the earliest, a protest would be staged in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, he warned.