From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network-Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Feb 18: Ruling Congress party legislators from the 10 districts of northern Karnataka will be meeting in Bengaluru on February 26 to discuss on plans to urge chief minister Siddaramaiah, who is also the State’s finance minister, to set aside Rs 20,000 core in the Karnataka’s budget for the year 2015-16 for completion of the Upper Krishna Project works.

The Karnataka government must take projects to complete all the UKP works and utilise the State’s share of unutilised water of the Krishna river as per the Krishna River Water Disputes Tribunal orders, indicted senior Congress leader BasavarajaRayareddy.
He said Congress legislators from Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Ballari, Vijayapura, Bagalkote, Gadag, Haveri, and Dharwad would hold a meeting in Bengaluru on February 26.

"We will also call on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the finance portfolio, and urge him to allocate 30 per cent of the planned expenditure for irrigation projects, majority in the Krishna basin,’’ Rayareddy said.

Rayaraddy told reporters on Wednesday that legislators would appeal to Siddaramaiah to "cut down unplanned and unproductive expenditure" to ensure availability of funds to irrigation and other priority sectors in the next budget.

"We need to counter the needless and politically motivated controversies sought to be created by a section of BJP leaders for carving out a separate State for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region by demonstrating that the Congress party is committed to work for the development of the region,’’ he said.