Pramesh S Jain & Yogesh K Porwar
NREGA is a weapon to eradicate poverty: CM Bommai
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act(NREGA) is a weapon that will play an important role in eradication of poverty.
We should include many more programmes under the NREGA.
NREGA Habba is a festival to celebrate an year’s toil and it is a State festival, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.
He was speaking after inaugurating the ‘NREGA Habba’ organised by the department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj.
Decentralisation of power should be like honey
Reminding Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of Grama Swaraj and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s ideal of Gram Suraj, Bommai said, he said villages should have all aspects of development.
Administration will freeze if power is not decentralised.Decentralisation of power should be like honey.
Once allowed to flow from Vidhana Soudha it should directly reach the beneficiary.Political decentralisation has happened,administrative decentralisation too has been a reality to some extent,but we need financial autonomy which is essential for development.
Karnataka is a progressive State in Rural Development
Karnataka has done well compared to other States in decentralisation of power. We have implemented our own Panchayat Raj system after the 73rd amendment of the Constitution, Bommai said.
He appreciated the Rural Development department for instituting awards for those who show commendable performance in implementing the NREGA programme.
NREGA to repair school buildings
Bommai advocated the need to extend the scope of the NREGA programme. I have provided Rs.50 cr in the recent budget to take up construction of 1000 Anganvadis.
A demand to include repair and construction of schools under NREGA has been submitted to the Union government.
The proposal, if approved would enable the government to take up repair and construction of class rooms in a big way, he said and expressed the confidence of a positive response from the Union government.
NREGA festival in every village
NREGA Habba should be celebrated in every village.It would enthuse every Gram Panchayat to work more vigorously, he said.
