Kittur Karnataka and Kalyana Karnataka regions seem to have been given a fair deal in the Budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday, with several districts of the region being included for various projects apart from continuing and strengthening some old schemes and projects.
As expected, Mr. Siddaramaiah allocated ₹5,000 crore under Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB). In his Budget speech, Mr. Siddaramaiah not only recalled how the UPA government led by the Congress had granted special status to the region under Article 371(J) but also pointed out what he termed as failure of the previous BJP government to spend the money allocated to the board.
The establishment of a new 200-bedded Mother and Child Hospital at Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Kalaburagi at a cost of ₹70 crore is another major announcement for Kalyana Karnataka, especially Kalaburagi district. The Chief Minister also allocated ₹30 crore to operationalise the Trauma Care Centres (TCC) in Mysuru and Kalaburagi and ₹20 crore for upgrade of the Peripheral Cancer Centres of Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Kalaburagi and Mysuru.
This apart, both Kittur and Kalyana Karnataka districts have figured equally in the Budget. A total of ₹155 crore has been allocated for operationalising super speciality hospitals and burns care centres in Mysuru, Kalaburagi, and Belagavi districts.
Belagavi, Kalaburagi, and Hubballi figure in the list of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences which will start state-of-the-art skill labs and Kalaburagi will get a college of Allied Health Sciences along with Mysuru.
Along with Ramanagar, Davangere, ad Dakshinaka, skill development training centres of minority youths will be started in the districts of Belagavi and Kalaburagi at a cost of ₹4 crore.
Of the seven new industrial estates proposed to be set up in the State, six are in these two regions. The new industrial estates will be set up at Hubballi, Chittapura in Kalaburagi, Kodkani in Uttara Kannada, Kanagala in Belagavi, Indi in Vijayapura, and Shahapura in Yadgir.
Tourism
In the tourism segment, 3D projection, multimedia, sound and light show programme will be introduced to promote night tourism and to display the rich art, architecture, and cultural heritage of Karnataka at various protected national monuments in the State, including Vijaya Vittala temple of Hampi, Bidar Fort, Golgumbaz of Vijayapura, Kittur fort and Badami caves.
This apart, comprehensive development of tourist destinations namely Savadatti Yellammana Gudda, Devara Gudda, Kappatta Gudda, Badami Banashankari, Lakkundi, and also the Magadi Bird Sanctuary in Gadag district is being planned.
A new road length of 78 km from Kalmala junction near Raichur to Ballari-Lingasugur road circle near Sindhanur to be developed at a cost of ₹1,696 crore; grant of ₹10 crore for selecting one skilled young graduate from each taluk in Kalyana Karnataka for the Chief Minister’s Fellowship for a period of 24 months are also important announcements.
Other important Budget proposals pertaining to both the region are completion and operationalisation of Vijayapura airport this year; manufacturing and export-oriented industrial clusters in Vijayapura; development of museums in Kalaburagi and Gadag, and transformation of Ananda Mahal building in Vijayapura as a museum: ₹75 crore for comprehensive development of tourist destinations in Kalyana Karnataka Region such as Hampi, Mailara, Ganagapura, Sannati, and the forts of Malakheda, Bidar, Raichur, Kalaburagi; building of Sewage Treatment Plants in seven other central jails at a cost of ₹10 crore. Further, construction of watchtowers in five central jails at a cost of ₹5 crore is likely to cover Hindalga in Belagavi, Ballari and Kalaburagi; inclusion of Raichur and Uttar Kannada under new programme ‘Ashakirana’; completion on priority 450-bedded hospitals in Gadag, Koppal, and Karwar; and alocation of ₹8 crore for establishment of Centre of Excellence in Design at a total cost of ₹20 crore at Belagavi; projects to filling 899 tanks in Belagavi, Davangere, Ballari, Haveri, Gadag, Bidar, Uttara Kannada, Vijayanagara, Koppal, Kalaburagi, and Yadgir districts at a total cost of ₹770 crore; ₹100 crore for building and maintaining 400 community toilet complexes in Kalyana Karnataka; declaration of blackbuck conservation reserve in Bidar district; and establishment of Janapada-Loka in Koppal district.
