State Cabinet Subcommittee discusses drinking water crisis at next week’s meeting

Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge was held at a press conference in Karablaj on Monday. |Photo source: Arun Kulkarni

Rural Development Minister and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge said the state cabinet subcommittee has discussed several measures against drinking water issues in the region, and officials from relevant departments have been directed to take action to resolve the drinking water crisis.

Mr. Karge said in a press conference in Karabraj City on Monday that directives have been made to authorities to take necessary steps such as hiring private individuals in order, providing water through tankers and drilling new ones to ensure there is no drinking this summer.

He said that if the region is declared affected by the drought, sufficient funds provided by personal deposit accounts can be used to resolve the drinking water crisis. However, the matter will be discussed in detail again during the Cabinet Subcommittee Meeting next week.

“In view of my request, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to his Maharashtra, requesting that the water be released from Warna and Koyna reservoirs to the Krishna River, from the Krishna River and from the Ujjani reservoirs to the Bhima River to parts of the North Karnataka region to alleviate drinking water problems.”

Mr Kharge responded to criticisms from the BJP leaders, known as the “halal budget”, reaffirming that the state budget adheres to the principles of equality and social development. He questioned whether the funds spent on the assurance program and the development projects adopted by the Panchayat Raj sector benefited only for the Muslim communities.

The accusation center of showing differences from Karnataka when paying income tax and GST, Mr. Halchi dared to openly debate the BJP leaders about the public debate on funds released by the central government to the state.

“When Karnataka paid Rs 100 to the Centre, the state received only Rs 13 in return; the Centre had to release about Rs 36 lakh of Jal Jeevan Mission, but we received Rs 51.7 lakh, and the state government provided Rs 2,900 lakh under the project to ensure the smooth implementation of the drinking water scheme.”