Chitradurga
Government schemes and benefits must reach common people directly, and officials should work effectively to resolve public grievances instead of treating public programmes as mere formalities, Scheduled Tribes Welfare and District In-charge Minister T. Raghumurthy said on Saturday.
He was speaking after inaugurating the ‘Praja Seva Andolana’ meeting organised jointly by the district administration, Zilla Panchayat and Public Service Department at Sri Maharshi Valmiki Hall in Samvidhana Soudha, Holalkere. He said a separate department had been established at the state level for the initiative under the supervision of the Chief Minister.
Raghumurthy directed officials to address genuine issues raised by people at Hobli and taluk-level meetings locally wherever possible. Unresolved matters should be forwarded to the state government for necessary action, he said. He stressed that elected representatives and officials must work together and give top priority to public grievances.
Raghumurthy warned against damaging the Chitradurga Branch Canal to divert water into local tanks. He said Bhadra project water was being released on a trial basis and damaging public infrastructure was illegal. So far, 0.60 TMC had reached the canal, with another 2.40 TMC expected over the coming month. He urged farmers not to panic or take the law into their own hands.
Holalkere MLA Dr M. Chandrappa demanded immediate drought status for the taluk and sought greater water release under the Bhadra Upper Bank Project. He also urged officials to resolve public applications within a week, particularly issues concerning khata transfers and title deeds.
Stalls displaying benefits from agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, forest, sericulture, health and other departments were set up at the venue. Raghumurthy distributed benefits to beneficiaries and received public grievances during the programme.
“Hiriyur and Hosadurga taluks had already been declared drought-affected under Central guidelines. Chitradurga, Holalkere and Molakalmuru had also qualified for inclusion, based on assessments of satellite data, soil moisture, crop damage and drinking water availability. A formal declaration would be issued soon.” T. Raghumurthy, Minister
