Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Oct 30: The winter session of the Karnataka Legislature will begin in Belagavi on November 30 and continue for 15 days, Bengaluru Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Krishna Byre Gowda announced, as the state Cabinet approved a series of projects covering tribal welfare, drinking water infrastructure, sewage treatment, evaluation of government schemes, waste management and women's self-employment.

The Cabinet also approved revised estimates of Rs 228.95 crore for constructing the Kranthiveera Sangolli Rayanna Sainik School at Sangolli in Bailhongal taluk of Belagavi district.

File photo

Separate corporation for vulnerable tribal groups

The corporation will cover communities including Irula, Soliga, Jenu Kuruba, Kadu Kuruba and Kudiyas, as well as Siddis and other eligible groups. An estimated 2.82 lac people belonging to these communities are expected to benefit from the initiative.

The government has earmarked Rs 33.36 crore for the corporation's initial activities.

Gowda said a separate corporation was necessary because these vulnerable communities often faced difficulties in accessing benefits available under broader Scheduled Tribe welfare programmes.

Rs 61.50 crore for Bengaluru water infrastructure

Of this amount, Rs 22.50 crore has been sanctioned for constructing a five-million-litre-capacity reinforced cement concrete (RCC) ground-level reservoir at Kaval Byrasandra in the Pulakeshinagar Assembly constituency.

Another Rs 39 crore has been approved for demolishing the existing masonry reservoir at the Banashankari service station and constructing a new RCC reservoir with a capacity of 22 million litres.

The Cabinet also cleared Rs 51.37 crore for constructing a sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 10 million litres per day at Kacharakanahalli in the Sarvagnanagar Assembly constituency. The allocation includes seven years of operation and maintenance. The facility is intended to prevent untreated sewage from entering local lakes.

Project K-Monitor to assess welfare schemes

The initiative will cover all 224 Assembly constituencies and track beneficiaries to assess whether the schemes are reaching their intended recipients and how they are affecting their social, educational and financial circumstances.

The study will cover around one lac beneficiaries, with detailed feedback to be collected from 60,000 respondents.

Gowda said the exercise would go beyond assessing implementation and examine the actual impact of government programmes on people's lives.

“Should we blindly spend public money collected through taxes without evaluating its impact? We need to know whether the schemes are making a difference in people's lives. If there are gaps in implementation or benefits are not reaching the intended beneficiaries, we should make the necessary changes,” he said.

The findings will help the government evaluate individual schemes, identify shortcomings and introduce corrective measures wherever necessary.

New waste collection vehicles for Bengaluru

The contracts will run for seven years and require operators to deploy new, higher-capacity three- and four-wheeler vehicles equipped with GPS tracking systems.

Gowda said the existing waste collection system had several shortcomings, including ageing vehicles, inadequate collection capacity and the failure to implement GPS tracking despite it being mandatory.

The revised arrangements are intended to improve door-to-door waste collection, ensure vehicles cover their designated routes and strengthen monitoring of the system.

9,243 sewing machines for women

The initiative aims to promote self-employment among women by providing sewing machines to eligible beneficiaries, supporting livelihood opportunities and economic independence.

The Cabinet also approved Rs 16.04 crore for purchasing 9,243 sewing machines under a scheme of the Devaraj Urs Backward Classes Development Corporation.

The Cabinet approved 10 packages for waste collection and transportation tenders across Bengaluru's Assembly constituencies.

The government has approved Rs 14 crore for Project K-Monitor, an evaluation programme designed to measure the impact of major government schemes, including the guarantee programmes.

The Cabinet approved Rs 61.50 crore for two drinking water infrastructure projects in Bengaluru under the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).

In a significant decision aimed at strengthening tribal welfare, the Cabinet approved the establishment of the Karnataka Adivasi Development Corporation to focus on Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and tribal communities living in forests and forest-fringe areas.