Udupi: The Siddaramaiah led Congress government in the state has initiated all round development of the state by formulating various schemes, said Vinay Kumar Sorake, Minister for Urban Development and District minister in-charge. He was speaking at a press meet on the completion of 3 years of the Congress government in the state, at the Press Club here, on May 24.
A convention on developments made by the Congress government was cancelled following drought in the state. The development schemes and projects formulated by the government will be brought to the notice of the public through press meets organized in the district centers.
The Krishi Bhagya scheme has benefited 70 beneficiaries in the state. Bhoo Chetan Plus scheme has been formulated for the people of the rural areas. 37 thousand horticulture equipments have been manufactured. The state has also been recognized as a horticulture state. Karnataka has been ranked the 10th in milk production. A subsidy of Rs 4 is being provided to milk producers. 8.61 lakh beneficiaries have been provided with Rs 64,651 crore subsidy. Karnataka also ranks first in the country in terms of providing loan at 0% interest up to Rs 3,00,000 lakh for the farmers. The lake development authority has been formulated for the development of the lakes. 
Students of government and aided schools are being provided with milk 3 days a week under the Ksheera Bhagya scheme. Two rupees subsidy is paid for attendance of girl students. 24 women degree colleges, 27 colleges and 51 government colleges have been setup. The Harish scheme has been launched for immediate medical care for persons injured in accidents. A fund of Rs 50 crore has been setup for women subjected to acid attacks. 2.2 lakh students have benefited under the Vidyasiri scheme.
32 lakh minority students are receiving Rs 600 crore scholarship; more than 14 thousand Muslims have availed Rs 70.65 crore under the Bidayi scheme. Twenty thousand houses have been built under the Rajiv Housing Scheme costing Rs 1031 crores. 78.14 lakh metric tons of food grains are being distributed under Annabhagya Scheme; this scheme has also been extended to APL card holders.
Speaking of the Urban Development Department, Sorake said that vacant posts in the department will be filled. Three CMC’s have been upgraded to Municipal Corporations, 57 gram panchayats have been upgraded to CMCs, 15 Town Panchayats have been upgraded to TMCs and 15 TMCs have been upgraded to CMCs. The Graha Bhagya scheme has been initiated for the municipal workers. Project worth Rs 1258 crore has been upgraded. Rs 51.82 crore in 2014-15 and Rs 75 crore in 2015-16 has been released for waste management; the Town Water Supply and UGD Board has prepared a project related to this. Rs 179 crore has been sanctioned for drinking water projects in Mysuru under JNURM. The Kabini Drinking Water Supply project has been initiated costing Rs 179 crore. Six smart cities have been approved, with Davanagere and Belagavi being selected in the first phase. A Hubbali-Dharward bus service project will be initiated utilizing Rs 200 crore sanctioned in 2014-15 and Rs 150 crore sanctioned in 2015-16.
Rs 225.38 lakhs were released for Agriculture and Rs 321.27 crore under PWD department in Udupi district. 133,697 BPL cards have been released to the beneficiaries in the district. Rs 9.13 crore has been released for the beach development. Synthetic track, sports hostels and an indoor stadium will be developed utilizing Rs 3.64 crore. Kaup has been upgraded to a TMC. The 29,723 applications have been processed by the Revenue Department so far. Udupi District ranks first in Sakala services; 1154533 have been registered for Aadhar.
The minister also released three books of achievements of the government, namely “Nalkane Varshadedege Bharavaseya Nadige”, “3 years development works of Urban development minister” and “Udupi district development of 3 years”.
MLA Gopal Poojary, MLC Prathapchandra Shetty, Congress leader Kaup Divakar Shetty, Harish Kini, Udyavara Nagesh Kumar and Murali Shetty were present.
