Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Dec 27: Addressing the progress review meeting held at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Auditorium of the new district complex that has come up at Rajatadri, End Piont, Manipal on Sunday December 25, state Chief Minister (CM), D V Sadananda Gowda, informed that the operation of the survey undertaken by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) at Padoor near Shirva in Kaup assembly constituency for its ambitious expansion project has been stayed.
It may be recalled that residents of eight villages surrounding Padoor, who were apprehensive about losing out their lands, had recently taken up cudgels against the expansion plan of the company, and its clandestine survey being undertaken in their villages. They had observed bandh, and held protest at Udupi.
The CM was replying to queries made at the review meeting, after district police superintendent, Dr Y S Ravikumar, pointed out that the company had begun survey of the land around its first phase project, without getting any permission from the district administration. He expressed the apprehension that this may disrupt peace in the district and pose law and order problem.
Gowda said that survey if any, can be conducted after holding detailed discussions about its advantages and perils, and after arriving at a consensus. He revealed that the district administration has been instructed suitably in the issue.
At the meeting, the CM said that his probationary period is over, and that he is the full-fledged Chief Minister now. “I have started surgery of certain departments, against which I have grievances. The revenue department is back on the tracks now. The Citizens’ Charter Bill was not passed to cut the officials to size, it is meant to bring qualitative improvement in services at government offices. I never keep any file pending with me for more than a week, and already I have disposed off 6,000 files. The government officials should never keep files pending for more than two weeks with them. My administration will gain top speed now. Accidents might occur, but officials will not be made scapegoats,” he told the officials who participated in the meeting.
He expressed the wish that none of the departments should perform below par in implementing the government schemes, and promised full support from his side. He added that the second installment of one crore rupees grant to taluk panchayats was withheld because of financial constraints. He asked the concerned to send proposal for the upgradation of the district government hospital at Ajjarkad.
In addition to district deputy commissioner, M T Reju, MLAs, K Raghupati Bhat, H Gopal Bhandary, K Lakshminarayana and Lalaji R Mendon, zilla panchayat president, Katapadi Shankar Poojary, chief executive officer, S A Prabhakara Sharma, municipal president, Kiran Kumar, Karnaaka Housing Board commissioner, Ramesh Jhalaki, MLCs, Kota Srinivas Poojary and Capt Ganesh Karnik, taluk panchayat president, Devadas Hebbar, and superintendent of police, Dr Y S Ravikumar, were among those who participated in the meeting.