‘There were some hiccups, but things have settled down’

THE MONDAY INTERVIEW: N DHARAM SINGH

‘There were some hiccups, but things have settled down’

The Financial Express

From the day N Dharam Singh took over as chief minister of the first coalition government in Karnataka seven months ago, his government has been seen as slow and unresponsive. The pressures of coalition politics, the lack of clarity in priorities because of differences between the partners, and the need to balance the pro-rural approach of his government with a continuing focus on urban development, have made the going tough. So much so that cabinet expansion alone took over six months. In the meantime, the government earned a reputation of being industry and urban-unfriendly. Chitra Phadnis and Srinivas R of FE spoke to the chief minister about his plans and priorities. Excerpts:


Your government is perceived as slow, and not too industry-friendly. Your comments.

This is all a media creation. For the first time, there is a coalition government in Karnataka. The perception is that we have not given much importance to IT and biotech. This is not true. The rains were good and initially we focused on rural development because Karnataka has suffered drought for four years. We know the problems of the rural poor in such a situation. This doesn’t mean that we ignored industry, especially IT and biotechnology. It’s because of IT that Bangalore today is known internationally. We are committed to the development of Bangalore. We are very conscious of the things that we have to do. We had said that we would look at IT and Bangalore after November 15, and work has already started.

Maharashtra also has a Congress-led coalition government. They have not faced any problems, while you had problems even expanding your cabinet.

Maharashtra has its own problems. Moreover, they are accustomed to coalition governments. For us, this is the first time—it’s a new experience. There were some hiccups, but things have settled down now.

Today, Bangalore is known for its ‘crumbling infrastructure’ rather than IT. What specific plans do you have to improve the city’s infrastructure?

Recently, we cleared the Bangalore international airport project. This was a historic decision. Next, we are taking up the Bangalore metro rail project, which will be cleared in a month’s time. Another ambitious project is the development of a ‘hi-tech city’ between Electronic City and Bangalore airport at an estimated cost of Rs 390 crore. Other projects are an elevated six-lane road project along with the central government, private participation on Hosur road, and Bangalore Development Authority’s construction of four new flyovers with an investment of Rs 105 crore.

What will be the fate of the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF), the public-private programme launched by the previous SM Krishna government?

I had discussions with Nandan Nilekani, chairman of BATF. He had some reservations that need to be sorted out. We are discussing this again. Our government is prepared to fully support BATF, and under Nandan’s chairmanship it will continue.

You said that your focus was on rural Karnataka. What initiatives have been taken in this area?

We released Rs 272 crore for supply of seeds and insurance for farmers. We are releasing Rs 150 crore for support price of maize and paddy. For the first time, we are distributing 15 kg of rice and 5 kg of wheat at Rs 3 per kg each for 75 lakh families. We have extended the mid-day meal scheme to 25 lakh additional students. We have increased the agricultural budget to Rs 812 crore from Rs 412 crore. This increased amount will be utilised for seed subsidies, fertiliser etc. We have kept Rs 765 crore (World Bank funds) for the health and nutrition programme for the rural people. Good rains also helped us in our effort.

But your cabinet colleague has been asking the Centre to release funds for drought relief?

Yes, 43 talukas have not received sufficient rain. We are asking for a Rs 1,149 crore relief package and four-and-a-half million tonne of foodgrains from the Union government.

Karnataka is facing severe power problems. What steps are you taking to improve the situation?

The power situation has improved compared with what it was two years ago. In 2002, rural Karnataka used to get two hours of power. In 2003, it went up to six hours. Now we are providing power for nine hours to villages. We are waiting for some of the power projects, such as the Raichur thermal power project and the Bidadi power project, to be completed. This will further improve the power situation.

What is the fate of the Rs 25,000 crore ONGC project for setting up a petrochemical complex in the coastal special economic zone?

It is on. I had a discussion with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and he assured us that it would continue. We are opening an industrial park for machine tools and auto components at Shimoga at a cost of Rs 137 crore; a component cluster at Belgaum and six food parks. New airports in Mysore, Hassan, and Hubli will come up; we are going for a second runway in Mangalore at a cost of Rs 40 crore (with Rs 10 crore from the central government).