Labour Minister and district-in-charge for Dharwad Santosh Lad has said that the State government had decided to decentralise the ‘Janata Darshan’ programmes and starting from January 2024, taluk-level programmes would be held.
Speaking at the Janata Darshan programme in Dharwad on Saturday, Mr. Lad said that after the new government was formed, the emphasis had been on redressing the woes of the people in an expeditious manner. This decision had been taken to do away with the burden of people travelling to district headquarters to air their grievances, he said.
In the three janata darshans held in Dharwad district so far, 730 applications had been received and of them 650 had been disposed off and those requiring a nod at the government level are in different stages of approvals, he said.
On Saturday, over 200 applications were received at the Janata Darshan. While a dozen applications pertained to Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation, a majority of the applications pertained to Revenue Department.
Mr. Lad said that 120 applications among them were disposed off on the spot, while some which had to be settled at the government level were forwarded to the senior officials. Pointing out the reduction in the number of applications received at the event, the minister said that it proved that government machinery was working efficiently now.
The Minister said that the as the State was facing one of the worst droughts in the recent past, it had triggered a series of problems related to farming and drinking water.
According to experts, the drought was likely to turn severe in the next six months and the officials should chalk out plans to mitigate the hardships caused by it. Drinking water and fodder shortage and job problems are likely to surface and hence, preparations should be made to address the woes, he said.
Mr. Lad said that as of now there was no shortage of fodder in the district and the district had sufficient stock for next four months. In case there was fresh demand, steps for procuring the same would be floated, he said adding that officials had been told to identify places to set up fodder banks.
Deputy Commissioner Gurudutta Hegde, Deputy Commissioner of Police (L&O) Rajeev M. Superintendent of Police of Dhawad Gopal Byakod, Chief Executive Officer of zilla panchayat Swaroopa T.K. and other officials were present.
