Gulbarga, Oct 4 (IANS): The state government on Monday decided to spend Rs.4,633 crore on 55 projects and programmes in the districts of north Karnataka for all-round development of the backward region.  
 
"To bring about overall development of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region and remove regional imbalances, we have decided to implement 55 projects and programmes involving Rs.4,633 crore," Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa told reporters after a three-hour long cabinet meeting at Gulbarga, about 700 km from Bangalore.

This was the venue for a cabinet meeting for the third time since the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office over 30 months ago in May 2008. The first two meetings were held Aug 27, 2009 and Sep 26, 2008, when 59 projects were cleared for the region.

The four districts of Bidar, Gulbarga, Raichur and Bijapur form the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, which became part of the then Mysore state during the re-organisation of states. A new district -- Yadgir -- was formed in 2009 out of Gulbarga.

The districts were earlier part of the erstwhile Hyderabad state ruled by the Nizam till 1950.

Among the major projects the cabinet allotted funds are the second stage of 'Niranthara Jyothi scheme' (Rs.920 crore) for providing uninterrupted power supply in rural areas, Rs.80 crore for setting up a super specialty hospital by Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences and Rs.60 crore for purchase of buses by the state-run North East Road Transport Corporation to improve public transport in the region.

The cabinet also approved developing 700km of roads in the region and the adjacent districts of Bellary and Koppal for an unspecified amount.

Approval was given to take up 30 projects under the centrally-sponsored national rural drinking water programme (NRDWP) at a cost of Rs.553 crore for supplying safe drinking water in villages across the region.