JOIN US'Nurm in Mysore not up to mark'
Union minister for corporate affairs M Veerappa Moily on Saturday accused the state government of failing to utilise the funds provided by the Centre under various schemes.
Addressing media in the city, Moily — also ex-chief minister of the state — alleged that the projects taken up under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) in Mysore was going on in snail’s pace, owing to lackadaisical attitude of the government. “The progress of housing scheme under JnNURM in Mysore is very poor,” said Moily putting the rate of achievement at 13.3 per cent.
“The state government received Rs 3,000 crore under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in 2006, yet the authorities concerned have failed to utilise the amount in a judicious manner. As on March 2011, the unutilised amount was recorded at Rs 450 crore. The state is reeling under debt, compared to the tenure of S M Krishna as chief minister. Since then, the government has raised Rs 60,000 crore more loan,” alleged Moily.
He rubbished allegations that the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre was showing step-motherly attitude towards Karnataka.
Instead, he claimed that the Congress leaders from the state — playing different roles in the Central government — were indeed helping the government when it came to development works. Said Moily it was he who spoke to minister for environment Jayanti Natarajan recently to accord environmental clearance for a power project in Udupi. The state government, which was expected to forward the related proposal to the Centre in 2006, had forwarded the same in 2010.
On lack of coal hindering power generation in the state, besides taking up new projects, Moily blamed it on the lack of planning on the part of the ministry concerned.
Replying to media queries, he predicted the victory of Congress as a single largest party in the next Assembly elections here.
However, he parried questions over who would be leading the party at the time of polls. The people of the state are fed up with the BJP misrule and the polls next will be a question of survival for the saffron party, he said.
On Uttar Pradesh, which is going to polls in the first phase on February 3, Moily said Congress is set to gain four per cent of votes more than the previous hustings.
Not just an autobiography
Draupadi, the title of Veerappa Moily’s yet to be released autobiography is not just a piece of literature, but the writer’s take on women. “Here I have rightly understood women more than the women themselves”, said Moily sending the audience into peels of laughter. For him writing is like oxygen and four hours in a day is dedicated for literature.