Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi has said that the Union Government had set aside ₹100 lakh crore for infrastructure development and improvement living standards in accordance with the growing population.
Addressing a gathering after dedicating various works completed under Smart City scheme in Hubballi to the public on Saturday, Mr. Joshi said that the Smart City scheme was being implemented as per the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“There is an increase in urban population. Accordingly, various measures are being taken to upgrade the standards of living. Under the same vision ₹100 lakh crore has been earmarked for the development of various cities across the nation in five years. Hubballi-Dharwad has been allocated ₹594 core for 64 works of which 39 have been completed,” he said.
Mr. Joshi said that efforts were being taken to upgrade land and air transport facilities. Already, flights had begun from Hubballi to Hyderabad and in a couple of days flight services to Mangaluru and Mysuru would start. Based on patronage, the services would be extended to more days, he said.
The Minister said that in consultation with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, in-principle approval had been secured for linking Alnavar (Rama Nagar) – Dharwad – Navalgund – Gadag Road to the national highway under Bharat Mala-2 scheme. Already, officials of the Transport Ministry had conducted preliminary survey, he said.
Presiding over the function, the former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said that various development works had been initiated in Hubballi-Dharwad under the Smart Cities Mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and due to continuous efforts of Mr. Joshi several new developmental initiatives had been undertaken.
He said that after development of the underground drainage network in Hubballi-Dharwad under AMRUT-2 scheme, the twin cities would be more smarter. Already steps had been taken for the development of lake parks and roads and in a span of 5-6 months, the twin cities would be dust-free, he said.
Chairpersons of various boards and corporations V.S. Patil, Iranna Jadi, Savita Amarashetty, and Nagesh Kalburgi, Chairman of Hubballi-Dharwad Smart City Scheme R. Vishal, Deputy Commissioner Nitesh Patil, Police Commissioner Labhu Ram, Municipal Commissioner B. Gopalkrishna, and Managing Director of HDSCL Shakeel Ahmed were present.
