Kalyana Karnataka suffers as board present, members absent

Key posts vacant in the development body

When Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa expanded his Cabinet, there was just one minister from Kalyana Karnataka, which revealed how little the region mattered in the scheme of things.

The plight of the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB) is another apt illustration of the continuing apathy towards the backward region. The KKRDB is struggling with all its key posts vacant.

According to KKRDB staff, some key posts that require attention are the chief of finance and the joint director of planning. That apart, the government is yet to appoint a superintendent engineer and executive engineers for the technical wing.
While the Board is supposed to meet every three months, the last meeting was held only in March 2019, the staff added.

It may be recalled that while the state government had named Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol as KKRDB chairman, some within the party opposed the move since he is not from the region.

Following this, the Cabinet decided that even legislators from the region in addition to district ministers can be appointed to the chairman’s post.

Speaking to DH, Law Minister J C Madhuswamy said no decision had been taken on the appointment until now. “We will look into it at the earliest,” he assured. A staff member working at KKRDB said: “Running the office is a challenge as the key posts are either not filled or given as an additional charge to officials, who cannot afford to concentrate on two posts at the same time.”

BJP’s Gulbarga Dakshin MLA Dattatreya Patil Revoor said the issue remained unaddressed by successive governments.

“We now want to rectify all the hiccups coming in the way of regional development. Our people are also facing a problem with promotions and employment. We will bring this to the notice of the CM,” said Revoor.

According to KKRDB data, as on Tuesday, out of the total 3,936 works allotted for 2019-20, 1,604 works are under progress while 2,093 works are yet to start. Among these, 36 works were allotted to be executed by the Board itself, of which 21 are under progress.

Outgoing KKRDB Secretary Subodh Yadav said the pace of the works had seen tremendous improvement over the last two years in spite of administrative challenges.

“Until 2017-18, out of 11,000 plus works, 6,900 only were completed. In 2018-19 itself, we completed 4,000 works. Preparation for these works itself needs tremendous amount of time. Yet, we have cut down the delay in commencement of works to a great extent,” he said.