Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday directed the officials to clear the pending applications, submitted under Section 94 of the Karnataka Revenue Act for the regularization of illegally constructed buildings, within three months.

The chief minister was addressing a conference of Regional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Chief Executive Officers of Zilla Panchayats organised at Vidhana Soudha.

He directed the officials to distribute forest land as per Karnataka Forest Act for the landless tribal people. “Only five months of the current fiscal year are left for the implementation of welfare programmes. Though Assembly elections are approaching, we can complete the implementation of programmes in this fiscal year. You should get appreciation from the people by implementing government schemes with commitment and dedication,’’ the chief minister said.

Stating that welfare programmes should be implemented as per the government’s expectations, the chief minister said the government has already announced to allot houses if people from Scheduled Castes and Tribes submit application online. “This scheme will be implemented if the officials identify the land at village, taluk and district level. I want the officials to initiate the process of identifying the government land for this purpose,’’ the chief minister said.

Clear encroachment

He said A.T. Ramaswamy Committee has reported on the encroachment of 34,111 acres of government land in Bengaluru and out of that 7,781 acres of land was encroached for public purpose. “Bengaluru Deputy Commissioner has recovered 11,660 acres of land out of the total 11,960 acres of encroached land. The DC has also recovered 600 acres of government land that was not reported in A.T. Ramaswamy Committee report,’’ he said.

The chief minister has directed the officials to take the measures to recover the encroached land mentioned in V. Balasubramiam Committee report. “You have to take measures to recover the encroached government land on priority basis. The recovery of the land will help the government to construct roads, school buildings and other developmental works,’’ he said.

He said the workload on the Deputy Commissioners has been reduced due to allocation of work, that was assigned to the Deputy Commissioners, to Additional Deputy Commissioners and Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officers. “You have to keep a vigil on organisations received government land. You have to verify whether the allocated land was used for the right purpose or not. You have to take measures to protect the government property,’’ he told the officers.

Bapuji Seva Kendras

The state government has set a target of opening 6,000 Bapuji Seva Kendras in the state and among them, 5,141 Bapuji Seva Kendras have been functioning. “Bapuji Seva Kendras have been providing better service to farmers and villagers. ZP officials have to take measures to open the remaining 859 Bapuji Seva Kendras within two months,’’ he said.

One-lakh houses for poor

The chief minister said the government has set a target of constructing one lakh houses for poor people in Bengaluru. “It is your responsibility to identify the land for the construction of one lakh homes for poor people in Bengaluru,’’ the chief minister said. He said the government wanted to construct 15 lakh homes for poor across the state in five years. “As of now, 12 lakh houses have been constructed. The construction of three lakh houses should be completed by December end,’’ he said.

Open-defecation free by March

The chief minister said the government has constructed 32 lakh toilets as against the target of 55 lakh toilets. Among the 176 taluks only 76 taluks are declared open defecation free. “You have to take measures to make the remaining taluks free from open defecation by March 2018,’’ he said.

Mathru Poorna scheme

The chief minister advised the officials to give utmost priority for the effective implementation of state government’s prestigious Mathru Poorna scheme aimed at supplying nutritious food to pregnant women and lactating mothers. “I came to know about the difficulties in implementing the scheme in Kodagu district due to the distance from one house to the other. You have to take special care for the implementation of this scheme in Malnad region,’’ he said.

Organise meetings

The chief minister advised the officials to conduct regular meetings to review the implementation of welfare schemes for tribal people and scheduled caste people. “You pay surprise visit to the offices. Take stringent action against the government staff found negligent in implementing the welfare schemes,’’ he said.

Indira Canteens

The chief minister directed the officials to ensure opening of Indira Canteens at each taluk and district centres from January 1. “The government wants to open Indira Canteen in a city that has more than one lakh population. You should not sit quietly if the population is less than one lakh. If the need arises, do not hesitate to open Indira Canteens in such cities. Do not stick to the norm of having only one Indira Canteen if the population is over two lakh. Be generous to open two Indira Canteens in such cities,’’ he said.

Advising the officials to open Indira Canteens at Bus Stations, Government Hospitals, Agricultural Produce Markets and densely populated areas. “If there is no government in such places, rent a building or start mobile canteens. Give priority to this scheme aimed at providing food to labourers,’’ he said.

Anila Bhagya

There is a target of connecting 30 lakh houses to the LPG under Chief Minister’s Anila Bhagya scheme. “You have to implement this scheme immediately. Issue the LPG cards to below poverty line (BPL) families. “Flavoured milk has been supplied to school children in Mysuru and Raichuru districts. You have to get back to me with the feedback from those districts,’’ he told the officials.

Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa, PWD Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Minor Irrigation, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister H.K. Patil, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ramesh Kumar, Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Urban Development and Haj Minister Roshan Baig, Forest Minister Ramanath Rai, Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George, Minister for Agriculture Krishna Byregowda and other ministers were present on the occasion.