People of Kalyana Karnataka region pin high hopes on Cabinet meeting in Kalaburagi

The first Cabinet meeting in Kalaburagi was held by the then Chief Minister late R. Gundu Rao in 1981. Former Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa held Cabinet meetings in Kalaburagi in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Jagadish Shettar-led government held one meeting in 2012. The last Cabinet meeting held in Kalaburagi to discuss issues related to the region was in 2014 during the first stint of Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister.

The people of Kalyana Karnataka region are pinning high hopes on the State Cabinet meeting in Kalaburagi district on September 17. They hope it will explore solutions to the long-standing problems of the most backward region in Karnataka.

The last Cabinet meeting held in Kalaburagi to discuss issues related to the region was in 2014 during the first stint of Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister.

It is hard for people of the region to believe that a cabinet meeting in Kalaburagi will change things for the better any time soon, as the region had gained little from the six cabinet meetings held in the city so far.

The Cabinet meeting on September 17 is likely to discuss some important issues, including the long-pending irrigation projects in the districts.

Farmers leaders say that some of the projects, like Bhima lift irrigation, Amarja irrigation projection, Gandorinala irrigation project, Bennethora Project, Upper Mullamari and Lower Mullamari projects, were taken up nearly five decades ago, but are yet to be completed due to lack of political will. They also allege that some have technical flaws leading to water not reaching the tail-end farms.

At the Cabinet meeting held in Kalaburagi in November 2014, a decision was taken to fill up nearly 50,000 vacant posts in various departments in Kalyana Karnataka region. Ministers had assured to complete the recruitment process by June 2015. However, the decision is yet to be implemented.

As of now, nearly 1,09,416 posts were sanctioned in various government departments in the seven districts of the region under Article 371(J) of the Constitution, of which 79,990 posts were filled, which means that 29,426 posts are vacant.