Stating that the BJP-led government had done well in fulfilling the promises it made to the people of the State and in addressing the development needs, Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries Jagadish Shettar, however, said that floods last year and the pandemic now had brought down the speed of development.
After taking part in an online interaction with Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa organised to mark the first anniversary of the BJP government in the State, Mr. Shettar, who spoke to presspersons in Dharwad on Monday, said that the government had done enough to meet the aspirations of the people.
The Minister said that that flash floods last year posed a challenge to the government and it took immediate remedial measures to mitigate the sufferings of the people. It was the first to announce compensation of ₹ 5 lakh to owners of houses that were damaged completely. Already 99 % of the beneficiaries had received compensation.
Mr. Shettar said that although several investors who had taken part in the Investors Meet held in Hubballi had signed memorandums of understanding to invest in the region and were keen on going ahead with the investment plans, the pandemic put a brake to it and the government had to focus its entire machinery to fight COVID-19.
He, however, clarified that things had already moved a bit with regard to the government’s plan to setting up FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) cluster in Dharwad district and for the purpose, a vision group, headed by Joint Managing Director of Jyoti Laboratories Ulas Kamat, had been formed.
Mr. Shettar said that considering the development potential and the availability of necessary infrastructure, Hubballi-Dharwad had been identified as a growth-centre. The new industrial policy too was in tune with the government’s plan to develop tier II and tier III cities, he said.
30 more ventilators
On the fight against the pandemic, Mr. Shettar, who is also the district-in-charge Minister, said that the district had already procured 40 ventilators out of which 17 were being used at present. “However, considering the surge in the number of fresh positive cases, the government has sanctioned 30 additional ventilators,” he said.
Earlier, at the Zilla Panchayat hall, the venue for the online interaction with the Chief Minister, Mr. Shettar released a booklet on the progress report of the State government and special editions of Janapada and March of Karnataka magazines published by the Department of Information and Public Relations.
Durugappa Hanumanthappa Chikkatumbal, a painter from Bhairidevarakoppa in Hubballi, spoke during the interaction and thanked the Chief Minister for the assistance extended under COVID-19 relief. A host of elected representatives and beneficiaries of various government schemes were present.
