Generous Yeddy: Universities for Shimoga, Bellary, Largesse to Mutts
by Gabriel Vaz
Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, Mar 5: What is there in the budget? How does it affect me and my region? Which are the special schemes? Is there anything special about the budget?
These are questions that are normally being asked whenever Central or State budget proposals are presented. With the Union budget proposals for the year 2010-11 already out in February and Karnataka’s chief minister cum finance minister B S Yeddyurappa in the state legislative assembly on Friday, it is pertinent to focus attention on Yeddyurappa’s fifth consecutive budget.
With details on the state budget’s salient features already published, let us concentrate on other aspects of the budget not normally covered by news agencies.
First and foremost, the most significant aspect of this budget: Eeven before parliament is yet to pass the constitutional amendment bill on women’s empowerment providing for 33% reservation to women, Yeddyurappa has announced 50% reservation to women in the panchayat raj institutions to ``further strengthen the role of women” by suitably amending the Panchayat Raj Act.
However, it remains to be seen whether the 50% reservation to women in panchayat raj institutions is another ploy to put off the grama panchayat elections due in April-May.
In another significant move, Yeddyurappa has announced the government’s resolve to ensure education to all children upto standard X.
Pointing out that in rural areas, several children, particularly girls discontinue studies after the primary school and children of farmers and poor farm-labourers do not acquire necessary education, which deprive them of job opportunities necessitiating steps to correct the situation, the chief minister said: ``The government has therefore resolved to provide all necessary facilities in the next three years so that children of every school in the state can acquire education at least upto 10th Standard.”
More importantly, the chief minister, who received a doctorate from Saginaw Valley University in the US and even started the honorific ``Doctor” inviting criticism and derision from all and sundry, particularly the opposition parties, forcing him to publicly appeal that he should not be referred to as Dr B S Yeddyurappa, has continued his penchant for creating more universities or providing huge financial grants to the universities already created.
Thus, Karnataka will have a new university to be named as Vijayanagar University at Bellary in the ``kingdom” of Bellary mining lords, who incidentally control the levers of power in the Yeddyurappa-led BJP regime. The new university in Bellary to be set up to mark the 500th anniversary of the coronation of Sri Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagar dynasty, will be provided with a financial grant of Rs 10 crore.
If the Bellary Reddy brothers are to be granted an university to lord it over, why not Shimoga, the home district of Yeddyurappa and also the newly installed state BJP chief K S Eshwarappa, one may ask. Well, Yeddyurappa has taken care of that too. Shimoga will have a new agriculture university ``for study and research of special plants and crops of malnad region.’’ Like the new university at Bellary, the Shimoga university too will get Rs 10 crore.
In addition to the new agriculture university at Shimoga, it will also get a grant of Rs 10 crore each along with Hassan for development of veterinary colleges.
Another veterinary college in the name of Sangh Parivar’s ideologue Sri Bhaurao Deshpande is to be established at Athani in Belgaum district but at a reduced allocation of Rs 5 crore.
While Yeddyurappa has allocated Rs 10 crore for establishing a super-speciality hospital at the Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences in Bellary with private participation, the Shimoga Medical College will be provided a grant of Rs 20 crore for completing its construction work. The Kidwai Institute of Oncology gets Rs 5 crore for establishing a branch at Hubli to provide cancer treatment facilities.
The recently established universities at Tumkur and Davangere along with the Women’s university at Bijapur will be given a grant of Rs 10 crore each for development of infrastructure facilities. The Kannada university at Hampi will be given a grant of Rs 5 crore. The Karnataka university at Dharwad is provided a grant of Rs 4 crore for research activities of the DNA Diagnostic Instituter.
A grant of Rs 5 crore is also provided for the establishment of Sanskrit university during 2010-11. The Gulbarga university will be provided a grant of Rs 1 crore for establishing a centre for Pali language, while the grant of National Law School University of India will be enhanced to Rs 1 crore. But the Law University established at Hubli has been allocated Rs 10 crore for creation of infrastructure facilities.
The Vishveswaraiah Technological University at Belgaum has been given a special grant of Rs 5 crore for establishing a post-graduate study centre in urban development studies.
Now, the big question: What is there in the budget for the coastal region? Well, Yeddyurappa has been generous to the Udupi Municipal Council with a grant of Rs 25 crore on occasion of celebrating its Platinum Jubilee.
For the Mangalore city, Yeddyurappa has provided a grant of Rs 5 crore for establishing the new police commissionerate and staff and Rs 2 crore for development of the Hubli-Dharwad commissionerate. Rs 1 crore has been provided for establishment of a new planetarium at Pilikula near Mangalore and another at Nandi Hills in Chikballapur district, off Bangalore.
A grant of Rs 40 crore for shifting of district prisons at Mangalore, Dharwad, Raichur, Kolar, Bidar, Mysore, Davagere, Bellary and Hassan to the outskirts with another Rs 5 crore for modernization of prisons in the state.
The Koderi fishing harbour near Baindoor in Udupi district has been provided with Rs 10 crore for development. The Tadri port in Uttara Kannada district and the Haldipur in the Western Ghats is planned to be developed to handle 34 million tonnes capacity and 18 lakh tonnes capacity respectively, the chief minister said without indicating the financial outlay or when the development work would be taken up.
The quantity of sales taxd free diesel supply to fishermen of the coastal region has been increased from 75,000 to 85,000 kilolitres while the subsidy of Re 1 per unit of electricity consumed in making ice for preserving fish will be continued, the chief minister said announcing that Rs 2.5 crore will be provided for developing insland fisheries for producing 25 crore fish seed during 2010-11.
Incidentally, the chief minister has continued the practice initiated by him for sanctioning grants to mutts. The Mata Amritanandamayi Institutions, which came forward to build houses for the flood victims, will be provided a 15 acre land and a grant of Rs 5 crore for establishing a super-speciality hospital at Kengeri in Bangalore.
The Adichunchangiri Kshethra of Vokkaligas has been allocated a grant of Rs 5 crore for development of infrastructure facilities in Nagamangala taluk, Rs 10 crore for development works of Yediyur Siddalingeshwara Kshethra, Rs 5 crore for construction of guest houses at Tirupati, Rs 5 crore for construction of a guest house at Shabarimalai, Rs 3 crore as assistance to pilgrims visiting Manasa Sarovara, Rs 2 crore for development of Dattatreya Peetha at Devalagangapura in Gulbarga district, Rs 3 crore for development of Sri Someshwar Kshethra at Rambhapuri and Rs 1 crore for the development of Harihapura Kshethra in Chikmagalur district; Rs 10 crore for the development works of Kagrinele; Rs 5 crore for completing the works at Shravanabelagola Bahubali temple complex; Rs 5 crore for completing the Kudalasangama development works; Rs 5 crore for completing the remaining works of Basava Kalyana besides grant of Rs 25 lakh each for maintenance of government guest houses outside the state like Mantralaya in Andhra Pradesh, Kashi and Haridwara in Uttara Pradesh.
As if to prove that the BJP government has not neglected the interests of minorities, the chief minister has announced enhancement of the allocation to minorities from Rs 167 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 207 crore. An amount of Rs 5 crore for constructing a Haj Bhavan in Bangalore; Rs 10 crore for construction of Shadi Mahals/Kalyana Mantapas; Rs 3 crore for providing special language training to enable minority students to change their medium of instruction for higher education; Rs 10 crore for skill development training in various professions through Minorities Development Corporation and Rs 1 crore for the development of Tavakkal Mastan Darga in Bangalore and Mardan-e-Ghaib near Shivanasamudra.
The Backward Class communities like Kammara, Kumbara, Akkasaliga, Agasa and others engaged in traditional occupations have been given a grant of Rs 20 crore for supporting in economic activities and Rs 1 crore each for construction of community halls of Daivagna Brahmins of Uttara Kannada district and Bhalavallikar community of Manipal in Udupi district. In addition, a Rs 3 crore grant has been given for the establishment of ``Kumbakala Abhivruddhi Mandali” to ensure that the Kumbars were given training to provide new designs and skills in the traditional pottery industry and also to provide good marketing facilities.
Detailed report on Budget :