Taking a dig at the former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that Haveri has remained a backward district, because it was represented by a Chief Minister.
Addressing presspersons after holding a review meeting in Haveri on Tuesday, he said that despite being represented by a Chief Minister, Haveri has remained a backward district. “In the human development index, Haveri stands 27th among the 31 districts in the State. In education, it stands 28th, in per capita income 24th and in health index, it is 17th,” he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that either he will come again to review or the in-charge Minister will do it. “I have made it clear that if things don’t improve, then the officials concerned will be held accountable for the lapses,” he said.
On the sorry state of affairs in the District Hospital in Haveri, he said that an order has already been issued for the suspension of the Assistant Executive Engineer and the contractor will be blacklisted. “I have made it clear to the Executive Engineer that if the work is not completed within 10 days, then both him and the Chief Engineer will be held responsible,” he said.
He said he has directed the officials to ensure that the three multi village drinking water projects, which will supply drinking water to 420 villages, should be completed by August 2024.
On the pending grant of ₹5 crore towards Kannada Sahitya Sammelan held in Haveri, the Chief Minister said that pending bills will be cleared. “If there are any irregularities in the utilisation of funds sanctioned, it will be inquired into and if no lapses are found, the amount will be released,” he said.
On the demand for the establishment of District Central Cooperative (DCC) bank for Haveri, he said that he will take a decision on the issue after consulting the Cooperative Department.
The Chief Minister was accompanied by Deputy Speaker Rudrappa Lamani, district in-charge Minister Shivanand Patil, Ministers H.K. Patil, Cheluvarayaswamy and Byrati Suresh during his visit.
