Pramesh S Jain
*Detailed discussion on drinking water,fodder, employment and various other issues.
*DCM pulls up engineers for providing incorrect information.
*Jal Jeevan Mission: Contractors delaying works to be blacklisted.
*“I will not tolerate anyone taking the people’s crisis lightly”.
*“There is no shortage of funds for drinking water; do not try to evade responsibility by giving excuses”.
*Strict action against officials who neglect providing employment to people.
*“There must be no lapses in drought management” — DCM issues strict instructions.
Revenue and Deputy Chief Minister Dr.G.Parameshwara visited Tumakuru district today and inspected drought-affected areas in various villages of Sira, Pavagada and Madhugiri taluks.
Later,he held a progress review meeting of the Madhugiri Revenue Sub-Division at the Madhugiri Taluk Panchayat meeting hall and obtained detailed information from officials.
The meeting witnessed a detailed discussion on the availability of drinking water, fodder for livestock, employment opportunities for people and various other issues.The Deputy Chief Minister issued necessary directions to officials to effectively manage the drought situation.
The Jal Jeevan Mission was launched in 2022,with the works scheduled to be completed by 2024.However, 442 works have still not commenced.
Contractors are given a deadline when works are awarded to them.Should they not be warned when they fail to meet the deadline?Dr.Parameshwara directed officials to blacklist contractors who have delayed the works.
Of the 1,468 drinking water purification units, 285 have been affected by chemical contamination.Several purified drinking water units have become dysfunctional.
Works under the Jal Jeevan Mission have not commenced in several places, and laboratory testing of drinking water units has also not been carried out.You keep giving excuses in meetings.
Engineers provide different information at different times.Different data was presented at the district-level meeting, and now different figures have been provided. Which data are we supposed to believe?”the Deputy Chief Minister questioned,severely pulling up the engineers.
He directed officials to bring complete information on all drinking water schemes in both urban and rural areas to future review meetings,including the number of purification units and the expenditure incurred on each of them.He warned that excuses on every issue would not be tolerated.
As the state is facing drought, officials have been instructed to provide employment under the VB-G RAM-G scheme so that people do not migrate from their villages in search of work.
However, no employment has been provided in Sira taluk so far, with only ₹8 lakh having been spent.Whatever we ask, you give the excuse of a technical problem.This is an emergency. I will not tolerate anyone taking the difficulties faced by people at this critical time lightly,” he told the officials.
Agricultural activities have come to a standstill due to inadequate rainfall. In Sira,crops including groundnut and ragi are facing the threat of complete failure.Even if it rains now, the crops are unlikely to recover.
The situation is similar in Pavagada and Madhugiri taluks.He noted that there are currently no indications of a complete recovery of crops across the four taluks.
The drought situation across the district is serious. There must be no shortage of drinking water, he said, stressing that officials must not offer excuses on the issue.
He warned that officials from all departments would be held accountable if they attempted to shift responsibility onto others while taking decisions.If you give excuses and try to evade responsibility, you will have to face action,”he cautioned.
Funds have been kept with the respective tahsildars to address drinking water problems. ₹17 lakh has been placed with the Koratagere Tahsildar, ₹41 lakh with Madhugiri, ₹10 lakh with Pavagada and ₹10 lakh with Sira. These funds have been provided for expenditure as and when necessary.
He warned that he would not remain silent if unnecessary statements emerged from officials claiming that there were no funds available.
The four tahsildars and executive officers of the Madhugiri Revenue Sub-Division have approved 51,000 works under the VB-G RAM-G scheme.
However, employment is not being provided properly across all taluks. “It is not enough for senior officials to approve the works and then sit back.
They must verify whether the works are actually being carried out properly,” he said.He gave clear instructions to the Deputy Commissioner to take strict action without any consideration against officials who neglect the responsibility of providing employment to people.
He directed officials to treat the issues of drinking water, fodder for livestock and employment as matters of utmost importance.
Weather variations could also lead to health problems among people, and precautionary measures must be taken from now on.
He instructed the Deputy Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer to submit weekly updates on the situation.
All district officials must remain at their headquarters and discharge their duties,he said,directing them to provide information on where each official is stationed and working.
“If officials are not available to the people, what are we supposed to do?”he asked, directing officials to pay close attention to the issue.
The Revenue, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry departments must work in coordination, he said. While distributing government benefits, officials must ensure that eligible beneficiaries are identified.
Ensuring that government assistance reaches poor and vulnerable people facing difficulties will provide them much-needed relief, he said.
