JOIN USChief Minister Siddaramaiah announced a Rs 850-crore special package for the district on Monday.
The move is seen as a thanksgiving gesture for the people of Bellary Rural constituency, who elected the Congress candidate in the recent byelections to the Assembly.
The chief minister made the announcement to reporters, after a progress review meeting with 10 ministers.
The package includes Rs 204 crore for setting up nine residential schools by the social welfare department, hostels; Rs 110 crore for constructing houses on 286 acres reserved for the poor in the city; Rs 37 crore for constructing toilets in rural areas; Rs 50 crore for improving rural roads in Bellary taluk; Rs 130 crore for improving roads in the district; Rs 12 crore for upgrading the road from new bus stand to APMC; Rs 13 crore for development of the minorities; Rs 60 crore for water supply projects.
Ministers H K Patil, M H Ambareesh, Umashri, Qamarul Islam, Roshan Baig, H Anjaneya, Dr Sharanprakash Patil, Shivaraj Tangadagi, P T Parameshwar Naik were present at the meeting.
At a public meeting held at the municipal college grounds in the evening, the chief minister launched the national health insurance scheme to help 1.04 crore BPL card holders in the State. He symbolically distributed smart cards to the beneficiaries.