Daijiworld Media Network – Karkala (SP)

Karkala, Apr 3: Responding to allegations that Karnataka had lost out on claiming funds for managing naxal problem from the centre by concealing the gravity of the problem, state home minister, Dr V S Acharya, clarified that the state had not hidden any information from the centre. It may be recalled, that it was reported in some quarters that the state lost access to the central aid to combat naxalism, as it failed to properly project the menace.

Speaking at the convention of village forest committees organized by the forest department at the Ramakrishna Hall of Bhuvanendra College here on Friday April 2, he said none of the states have ever got the central grant of Rs 150 crore as alleged. “Compared to other states, the naxal problem is considerably less in Karnataka. That is why the union government has kept our state out of the list of the naxal-prone states,” he claimed.

He termed the reports about the state’s attempts to hide the naxal problem from the central government, as wrong.

MLA, H Gopal Bhandary, presided. Finance Commission Implementation Committee president, A G Kodgi, MP, D V Sadanand Gowda, MLA, Abhaychandra Jain, zilla panchayat vice president, Santosh Kumar Shetty, municipal president, Subhit Kumar, taluk panchayat president, Uday Kotian, Mangalore circle forest conservator, Shantappa and several others were present.