Bangalore: Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday September 9 accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of showing a ‘lazy’ attitude towards providing relief measures to people affected by floods in the North Karnataka districts.
Speaking to reporters, Shettar said that during his visit to the flood-ravaged districts of Raichur and Yadgir, he found that the manner in which relief measures were being executed was not satisfactory.
“The government has provided a relief cheque for Rs 1.5 lakh each to the families of the deceased. However, those whose homes have collapsed or are in a dilapidated condition are being made to wait. Three to four days after the floods hit these villages, the administration is yet to release compensation amounts,” he alleged.
‘None toured region’
Shettar claimed that barring Siddaramaiah, no other minister or official has toured the flood-affected region. “Even in Siddaramaiah’s case, the inspections have been half-hearted,” he said.
Drawing parallels with the prime minister, who visited Jammu and Kashmir immediately after floods hit that State and ordered large-scale rescue and relief operations, the Opposition leader said Siddaramaiah has not been able to exercise control over the administration in Karnataka to do the same.
The former chief minister said that the government had been dispatching eviction notices to people in the ‘declared’ slums in the cities of Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, Bijapur, Shimoga, etc.
Shettar alleged that the eviction notices have been issued to those who have been living in the same locations for the past 35 to 40 years, with proper documents including ration card, electricity and water connections.
On Arkavathi Layout denotification, Shettar said that he has received information that the government is already changing the names in the Record of Rights (RoR) from that of BDA to the original land owners.
“We are receiving information that the government is changing the names in the RoR, from that of BDA to the original land owners. Despite the fact that a status quo has to be maintained since a judicial probe has been ordered by the government. I?urge the government to stop the process, if such a thing is happening,” he said.
Collective decision
Shettar said that the BJP will take a collective decision on its next course of action after receiving the internal committee report on the issue.
“The committee led by our legislator V Somanna will submit the report, subsequent to which the next course of action will be charted out. Whether it will be a legal battle or a political fight, we will decide in the coming days,” he said.
