Govt committed to solving row over deemed forest: Minister

The Karnataka government led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is committed to solving the row over the deemed forest in the state, said District In-charge Minister V Sunil Kumar.

The government will drop 34,000 hectares of land from ‘deemed forest classification’ in Dakshina Kannada. There are 66,428 hectares of deemed forest in the district, he said after unfurling the National Flag to mark the Republic Day celebrations at Nehru Maidan in Mangaluru.

Owing to the deemed forest classification, basic amenities could not be developed and even title deeds could not be issued to the farmers who have been cultivating on the land for the last several decades, he added.

He said that activities like Naxalism and terrorism attempted to weaken the Constitution. However, such extremist activities could be overcome through the Constitution which India has.

There is a need to strengthen the Constitution through our activities, he added.

“A teacher’s son could become the district in-charge minister of Dakshina Kannada only because of the Constitution which was adopted in the country,” said the minister.

Stating that efforts will be made to develop Dakshina Kannada into an agriculture, tourism, entrepreneur and culture-friendly district, the minister said efforts will be made to expand the area under farming.

About 1.54 lakh farmers in the district have received income support under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. As many as 1,600 farmers children in the district have received scholarships from the government, he said.

Jal Jeevan Mission aims at supplying tapped water to 3.28 lakh households in Dakshina Kannada. As many as 458 works worth Rs 149 crore were taken up last year and 126 works worth Rs 198 crore were implemented in the district during the year. The district has a target to provide houses to 8,000 shelterless through various housing schemes. About 13 acres of land has been identified in Konaje for the housing projects, he added.

Further, the minister said that efforts are being made to develop Tannirbhavi Beach in the city to get Blue Flag certification. About 873 km of interior roads were upgraded as district roads and 237 km of district roads were upgraded as state roads in the district.

To promote industries, the KIADB has been directed to identify land in all the taluks in the district, he said and added that under the Belaku Scheme, 2,500 houses had been provided with electricity in Dakshina Kannada.

To improve the quality of supply of electricity seven 110 kv substations will be developed in Dakshina Kannada in addition to five 33 kv substations, said the minister.

A total of 97% of the eligible people in the district have received the first dose of vaccination and 81% have received the second dose. There is no scarcity of oxygen in the district. Under the Amrith Scheme, 25 primary health centres will be upgraded in the district. Eight lakh people have benefitted under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, he added.

Farmer Mahalinga Naik who has been selected for the Padma Shri award was felicitated on the occasion.