MYSORE, September 3: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that he will shortly visit New Delhi to discuss with Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Digvijay Singh the issue of appointments to boards and corporations.
“The appointments will be made at the earliest and therefore, the party high command will be consulted during my next visit to the national capital,” he told presspersons at the Lalit Mahal helipad here.
While denying that there was any sort of dissatisfaction among the party loyalists over the delay in appointments to boards and corporations, Mr. Siddaramaiah asked, “Where is the dissatisfaction when the party has won the two parliamentary by-elections from Mandya and Bangalore Rural.”
A gift?
Asked whether the appointments would be a “Dasara gift” to the party leaders and workers who are eagerly looking forward to it, the Chief Minister said, “I cannot say anything about the date unless I have a word with the high command on the issue.”
To another question on Cabinet expansion, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that he will speak to the high command on the expansion as only four Cabinet berths were available now.
Airport expansion
On the issue of expansion of the runway at Mysore airport for operating bigger aircraft, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that he met Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and discussed with him the need for expanding the runway.
“Expansion is not possible on the Western side of the airport because of a railway line. On the Eastern side, there is a national highway. The acquisition of land for facilitating expansion will be possible if the highway is realigned. The issue will be discussed with other authorities soon,” the Chief Minister said.
Dasara
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that Mysore Dasara 2013 will be celebrated in a grand manner and directions had been issued for the release of Rs. 10 crore for the celebrations. “There is no dearth of funds for the festivities and I wish the festivities celebrated as people’s Dasara,” he stated.
The Chief Minister said that Minister in-charge of Mysore district V. Sreenivas Prasad will oversee the festivities and the authorities were working on the arrangements.
Entry tax
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that entry tax on tourist vehicles from other States visiting Mysore for the festivities would be waived for 15 days from October 1.
However, if necessary, the exemption from paying tax would be extended for another 15 days. A decision will be taken later, he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah held a review meeting with the district officials at the Zilla Panchayat auditorium.
Before chairing the meeting, the Chief Minister said, “It is not a major review meeting; I will come again sometime this month as it requires at least half-a-day to review the works. Today, I will review the progress achieved under the government’s flagship programmes.”
