Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Krishna Byre Gowda directed officials to submit a report on damaged roads coming under Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department to the deputy commissioner within a week.
The work on the repair on the roads should be expedited, he said while reviewing the progress of the department here on Tuesday.
An official said that the district has 8,336 km long road. In this, 478 km of roads have been damaged. When the officials failed to provide details on the damaged roads, the minister asked them to visit the spot and submit a report to the deputy commissioner through the Zilla Panchayat CEO.
The DC has received Rs 13.21 crore under Natural Calamity Relief Fund. In this, Rs 3.2 crore is sufficient for the maintenance of the road. If there is a need for additional funds, then it can be sought from the government, he added.
He said that chief minister’s special grants will be released shortly.
The minister said that 30 vented dams should be constructed in each Gram Panchayat under MGNREGS. “The issue of 540 schools without compound walls have been brought to my notice, which can be constructed using the funds under MGNREGS,” he added.
Financial assistance
More than Rs 30 crore, which would have been received under MGNREGS for the laying of new plantations by the BPL farmers in the district, has not been received.
The issue came to light during the review meeting.
New plantations have been laid on 7,000 hectares of land in the district. In this, financial assistance has been paid only to 430 hectares, a Horticultural Department official said.
The minister said that under MGNREGS, a financial assistance of Rs 2,51,140 for one hectare arecanut plantation, Rs 59,000 for one hectare of coconut plantation and Rs 19,997 can be paid for cultivating pepper. If the district has 55% to 70% BPL families, financial assistance could have been given for 11,000 acres of land which means that Rs 30 crore financial assistance was not given, he said.