Siddaramaiah chairs drought relief review meeting with DCs, officers through video-conferencing

Mysore/Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah issued an ultimatum to bureaucrats across the State urging them to expedite drought relief works and ensure no delay in fund disbursal.

During a drought relief review meeting held via video-conferencing from Bengaluru this morning, the CM, who is scheduled to visit Mysuru later today, emphasised the importance of swift action in providing relief to affected areas. He told officials to prioritise relief efforts while ensuring availability of clean drinking water in every village.

In Mysuru, the meeting took place at new DC office in Siddharthanagar. Deputy Commissioner Dr. K.V. Rajendra, ADC P. Shivaraju, ZP CEO K.M. Gayathri and over 40 officers from various departments including Agriculture, Revenue, Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation, PWD, Chamundeshwari Electricity Company, MCC, District Urban Development Cell and MUDA were present.

Siddaramaiah said the State Government had declared 223 taluks as drought affected on Sept. 13, 2023. He asked officers to release compensation to those drought-hit lands where survey has been completed and initiate speedy survey where the lands have not been surveyed.

The CM noted that there was no shortage of funds and directed officials to take immediate steps to ensure supply of drinking water. New borewells should be dug and defunct borewells should be recharged. If needed, take over private borewells by paying rent, the CM said.

He reminded them of legal provisions enabling the government to take control of water sources, even on private lands, to address drinking water crisis. “Under no circumstances should people suffer due to unavailability of drinking water,” he said.

The CM instructed District in-charge Secretaries and DCs to conduct extensive tours of their districts. Their role would be to supervise drought relief works and address people’s grievances directly, thus minimising the need for individuals to travel to Bengaluru for resolution.