10 hours ago
Minister reaffirms Congress commitment to ensuring social justice
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister and Kalaburagi district in-charge Priyank Kharge has reaffirmed the Congress' commitment to delivering social and economic justice to the most marginalised in society.
He was speaking at an event at the Poojya Basavarajappa Appa Memorial Hall where multiple civic initiatives were launched for the city's development and citizen welfare.
At the event, the Minister symbolically distributed direct appointment orders to 935 civic workers, ending the contract labour system and making them permanent employees of the Kalaburagi City Corporation.
Letters of appointment were also issued to newly recruited village administrative officers, while laptops were handed over to those concerned to assist them in digital governance at the village level — a first-of-its-kind initiative in the State.
He also distributed sewing machines and motorised tricycles to persons with disabilities.
'This is a proud and happy moment. As promised, we are appointing you all directly as municipal employees. This has been made possible because of the Congress ideology and commitment,' Mr. Kharge said praising the civic workers for their crucial role in keeping the city clean despite many challenges.
Mr. Kharge further announced that if a site is allotted by the City Corporation for housing, the State government will provide necessary funding for the construction of houses for civic workers and urged local MLAs and MPs to contribute funds for the purpose.
'A Kalaburagi city master plan has been prepared for the next 25 years in collaboration with the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS). This plan has been drafted after consulting various civic organisations and stakeholders. Although the Union government denied Kalaburagi Smart City status, the State government is working to transform it into a well-planned and inclusive urban space within the next three years. As part of this blueprint, 23 major traffic circles will be redeveloped, 31 public parks upgraded and four lakes restored,' Mr. Kharge said.
Mr. Kharge also announced the establishment of Nagavi Institute of Competitive Exams (NICE)training centre at Vajpayee Layout. It is scheduled to open in the last week of July, initially offering free coaching to 500 aspirants preparing for IAS, KAS and other competitive exams, with plans to expand to 2,000 students in the future, he added.
Taking aim at BJP leaders, Mr. Kharge said that they came to Kalaburagi just to criticise him, not to talk about development. 'Instead of engaging in constructive dialogue, they resort to personal attacks,' he claimed.
MLC Tippannappa Kamakanur urged the Minister to allocate funds for the construction of housing for civic workers and also requested Lok Sabha member Radhakrishna Doddamani to raise the issue of including Kabbaliga community in the Scheduled Tribes list in Parliament.
Kalaburagi Mayor Yallappa Naikodi, Mr. Doddamani, MLAs Allamprabhu Patil, Kaneez Fathima, KUDA chairman Mazhar Alam Khan, Deputy Commissioner Fauzia Tarannum, Zilla Panchayat CEO Bhanwar Singh Meena and Municipal Commissioner Avinash Shinde and others were present.
