Karnataka health minister pulled up in Cabinet meet?

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar is said to have come under heavy criticism by his Cabinet colleagues on Thursday.

According to sources, ministers took Sudhakar to task for allegedly getting approvals for projects without taking everybody into confidence.

On Thursday, Sudhakar sought the Cabinet’s approval for two proposals: Establishment of a taluk-level hospital with staff quarters at Gauribidanur in Chikballapur district costing Rs 27 crore, and setting up of maternity hospitals at Bailhongal (Belagavi), Jevargi (Kalaburagi), Kushtagi (Koppal) and Manchenahalli (Chikballapur) pegged at Rs 93 crore.

Sudhakar represents the Chikballapur assembly segment.

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It is learnt that Youth Empowerment & Sports Minister KC Narayana Gowda opposed Sudhakar’s proposals. “What should we do if you get everything approved for your own district? You got a medical college in Chikballapur when BS Yediyurappa was CM. Now, a hospital. This isn’t right. All districts should get justice,” Gowda is said to have told Sudhakar.

Ministers CN Ashwath Narayan, MTB Nagaraj, JC Madhuswamy and others are said to have joined Gowda in hitting out at Sudhakar. Some even criticised him for seeking approvals for maternity hospitals in constituencies represented by Congress MLAs. They also rued poor infrastructure and logistics in state-run healthcare institutions.

When Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai offered to put the proposals on hold, sources said RDPR Minister KS Eshwarappa intervened and urged Sudhakar to consider the pleas of other Cabinet members.

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There was no formal briefing of the Cabinet decisions owing to the model code of conduct. However, sources said the Cabinet discussed granting 9.32 acres of land in Huralichikkanahalli, Hesaraghatta hobli, Yelahanka taluk in Bengaluru Urban district to the Rashtrotthana Parishat, an RSS-associated entity, for educational purposes.

In other decisions, the Cabinet is said to have approved a multi-village water supply scheme under the Jal Jeevan Mission covering all rural households in Yadgir at a cost of Rs 1,358.62 crore. Similarly, multi-village water schemes were approved for 53 villages in Dakshina Kannada at a cost of Rs 218.58 crore.

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