Youth services, sports
In the light of the phenomenal success of the Stree Shakti programme my Government will
now move towards mobilizing the youth in the State. Harnessing the creative energies of
the youth of the State is critical to building a strong future. Towards this end I propose
to introduce a new programme “Rajiv Yuva Shakti”. Under this programme a youth
association will be formed in all the 5,659 Gram Panchayats in the State. These
associations will be supported with a corpus of Rs 10,000 each to undertake sports,
cultural and community building activities. I am setting apart Rs 6 crore for this
purpose.
Housing
My Government reiterates its commitment to provide 11 Lakh houses for the houseless poor
in the state. We will complete 6 Lakh houses by the end of March 2003. In the next two
years, the target will be increased from 2 Lakh to 2.5 Lakh houses per year for
economically weaker sections, thereby 5 Lakh houses will be constructed in the next 2
years. Food and civil supplies The Government will bring into operation the scheme
of yellow ration cards with effect from May 1, 2003 in all the 27 districts of the State.
Irrigation
To ensure repair, renovation and refurbishment of the irrigation assets in the Cauvery
basin area, I propose to incorporate a new special purpose vehicle – the
“Cauvery Neeravari Nigama”. The objective will be to raise Rs 1,000 crore over
the next three years for better management of canals and optimal utilisation of water in
the Cauvery basin. Such off budget borrowing will be within the Medium Term Fiscal Frame
work and the borrowing limits prescribed therein. The “Raitha Kayaka Kere”
programme has proved very useful for small and marginal farmers. I am extending this
programme to cover two tanks in every hobli in the state during 2003-04. I am enhancing
the allocation by Rs 5 crore for this purpose.
Canal modernisation under the Thunga Dam and Bhadra Dam will be taken up at a cost of Rs
50 crore. These works will be executed through the KNNL. I propose to allocate Rs 5 crore
to the Ugrani lift irrigation project in Davanagere district.
Roads
I therefore propose to establish a dedicated Road Maintenance Fund to be called
“Mukhya Mantri Grameena Raste Abhivrudhi Nidhi” with a corpus of Rs 100 crore.
This will require additional resource mobilisation through a cess on fuel and motor
vehicles. The modalities of this initiative are being put in place. I propose to
enhance the allocation for the RIDF programme from Rs 280 crore in the current year to Rs
325 crore during 2003-04.
Energy
Despite the fact that the Government supports the power sector with a subsidy of Rs 2,340
crore, there is still considerably dissatisfaction amongst consumers with regard to the
reliability and quality of power. I seek the support of the house and all stake holders in
implementing strong measures to infuse efficiency in the power sector. These will include:
Enforcing measures to step up revenue collection efficiency. This will entail all users
paying tariffs as determined by KERC and accepted by Government. Budgetary support
to the power sector will henceforth be linked to actual outcomes in the sector. This will
mean measurable reduction in technical and commercial losses from the current level of 32
per cent to 30 per cent in the next fiscal year.
From the next fiscal year the Government will adopt the “Purchaser-provider”
model for budgeted subsidy support to the power sector. Under this model the Government
will determine the quantum of power that it proposes to supply to agriculture during the
year and meet the gap in revenue after cross subsidies and agricultural tariffs levied are
accounted for. All farmers who pay the principal electricity dues in full will be
given full interest waiver. This scheme will be operated for a three month period from
April 1, 2003 to June 30, 2003. Karnataka Power Corporation Limited contributes more than
75 per cent of the electricity requirements of the State. KPCL’s power generation is
likely to be 19,300 MU for the year 2002-2003 despite the poor monsoon.
Urban development
To give impetus to development of northern Karnataka, I propose to establish a separate
North Karnataka Water Supply Board to deal with urban cum rural water supply projects in
the Hyderbad-Karnataka Area and the Bombay-Karnataka area. This will be located in Hubli.
Industries, commerce
Recognising the importance of exports in the emerging world economic context, we have
recently brought out an Export Promotion Policy for the period 2002-07. The Policy has the
main objective of increasing the State’s share of exports from the present level of 7
per cent to 15 per cent by 2007. This will be achieved by providing an effective,
proactive and supportive institutional mechanism for the rapid growth of exports,
operationalising sustainable medium term export promotion sectoral strategies and by
building effective and competitive export infrastructure. The scheme of capital subsidy of
Rs.25 Lakhs per MW of power generated by sugar factories will be continued for the year
2003-04 also. For handloom weavers, 2,000 living cum work sheds will be constructed. |
