CM Siddaramaiah vows Rs 70,000 cr irrigation boost, Secretariat for Kalyana Karnataka

Kalaburagi (Karnataka), Sep 17 (PTI) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday greeted citizens on Kalyana Karnataka Liberation Day and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to the region’s all-round development by outlining key initiatives, budget allocations and upcoming projects.

He said the occasion was a reminder of the sacrifices made by freedom fighters who fought for the liberation of Hyderabad-Karnataka from the Nizam’s rule.

“Whilst the rest of India was celebrating independence on 15 August 1947, this region was still not free. The atrocities of the Razakars had reached unbearable limits,” he said, recalling that the region was integrated into the Indian Union thanks to the determination of local heroes and the resolve of the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then Home Minister Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.

The CM paid homage to several freedom fighters, including Sharanagouda Inamdar, Raja Venkatappa Nayak, Dattatreya Avaradi, Shivamurthy Swamy Alavandi, Matamari Nagappa and many others, calling their sacrifices “unforgettable”.

Turning to development, Siddaramaiah said since the introduction of Article 371-J in 2013, 1,19,923 posts have been identified for direct recruitment, of which 84,620 were already filled.

“Now that the issue of internal reservation has been resolved, we intend to fill the remaining vacancies in a phased manner.” For 2025–26, the state government has allocated Rs 5,000 crores to the KKRDB. “Thus far, over Rs 14,000 crores have been utilised for 41,103 works, with 32,985 completed,” he said.

Siddaramaiah highlighted that his government had invested nearly Rs one lakh crore in its flagship guarantee schemes.

Under the Shakti scheme alone, 77.6 crore women have availed free bus travel at a cost of Rs 2,100 crores.

Gruha Lakshmi had benefitted 24.78 lakh women heads of households with Rs 9,650 crores disbursed, while Anna Bhagya had spent over Rs 3,200 crores in the region and Yuva Nidhi has provided Rs 172 crores to 5.75 lakh unemployed graduates and diploma holders.

On irrigation, Siddaramaiah said his government has approved land acquisition for Phase III of the Krishna Upper Canal Project through farmer consent and would raise the height of the Almatti Dam.

“This decision will provide irrigation to over 15 lakh acres across Raichur, Yadgir, Kalaburagi and Koppal. We will invest over Rs 70,000 crores in the next three years,” he said.

He also said "a Kalyana Karnataka Secretariat would be established in Kalaburagi", with a formal notification to be issued next week.

“The development of Karnataka is incomplete without the development of Kalyana Karnataka,” Siddaramaiah concluded, urging citizens to work together for “a new India and a new Karnataka”. PTI GMS ROH