PM flags off work on Karnataka section of Surat-Chennai Expressway

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone and dedicated various developmental projects worth Rs 8,700 crore related to irrigation, drinking water and a National Highway development project at a massive gathering in Kodekal village in the Yadgir district of  Karnataka today.

The projects include laying the foundation stone of the Yadgir multi-village drinking water supply scheme under the Jal Jeevan Mission and 65.5 km section (from Badadal to Maradagi S Andola) of Surat – Chennai Expressway NH-150C, and inauguration of the Narayanpur Left Bank Canal – Extension Renovation and Modernisation Project.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said these projects will provide massive benefits to the people of the region. Surat-Chennai Corridor’s Karnataka portion, being built at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore, also saw the start of work today which will enhance ease of living and help employment and economic activity in the region including Yadgir, Raichur and Kalburgi. The Prime Minister praised the state government for development work in North Karnataka.

Noting the benefits of the double-engine government when it comes to connectivity in Karnataka, the Prime Minister noted that it is equally important for agriculture, industry and tourism and highlighted the benefits to large parts of North Karnataka with the completion of the Surat-Chennai Economic Corridor.

The Prime Minister informed that it will also be easy for the countrymen to reach the tourist places and pilgrimages of North Karnataka thereby creating thousands of new employment and self-employment opportunities for the youth

The Prime Minister said that the coming 25 years are ‘Amrit Kaal’ for the country and for every state. “We have to create Viksit Bharat during this Amrit Kaal. This can happen only when every person, family and state gets associated with this campaign. India can be developed when the life of the farmer in the field and the entrepreneur is improved.

The Prime Minister lamented that the past governments had absolved themselves just by declaring Yadgir and other such districts as backward.

“Even if one district in the country lags behind on the parameters of development, the country cannot become developed”, the Prime Minister pointed out.

He noted that it was the present government that addressed the most backward regions on priority and initiated the hundred aspirational villages campaign including Yadgir.

The Prime Minister noted the emphasis on good governance and development in these regions and informed that Yadgir has vaccinated 100 percent of children, the number of malnourished children has gone down significantly, all villages of the district are connected via roads and availability of common service centres in gram panchayat to provide digital services.

The Prime Minister underlined the importance of water security for the development of 21st-century India which, said the Prime Minister, stands at par with border, coastal and internal security. “Double engine government is working with an approach of felicitation and consolidation”, he said and informed that out of the 99 irrigation schemes that were lying pending in 2014, 50 have already been completed and schemes have been expanded. In Karnataka also many such projects are underway. Narayanpur Left Bank Canal – Extension Renovation and Modernisation Project with a canal carrying capacity of 10,000 cusecs can irrigate 4.5 lac hectares of command area, he informed. The project has been built at a cost of Rs 4,700 crores.

Throwing light on the projects inaugurated today, the Prime Minister underlined that the target of providing tap water to every house in Yadgir will get a boost. He informed that a study conducted revealed that lives of more than 1.25 lakh children will be saved every year due to the impact of India’s Jal Jeevan Mission.

Noting the benefits of the Har Ghar Jal campaign, the Prime Minister highlighted that the central government gives Rs 6,000 to the farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme and the Government of Karnataka adds Rs 4,000 more which doubles the benefits for the farmers. “About 1.25 lakh farmer families of Yadgir have received about Rs 250 crore from PM Kisan Nidhi”, the Prime Minister added.

The Prime Minister lauded the local farmers for making the region a pulse bowl and helping the country in reducing foreign dependence in this area. He informed that 80 times more pulses have been procured under MSP in the last 8 years. Pulse farmers have got 60 thousand crore rupees in the last 8 years compared to a few hundred crore rupees before 2014.

Informing that the year 2023 has been declared the International Year of Millets by the United Nations, the Prime Minister noted that coarse cereals like jowar and ragi are produced in abundance in Karnataka. He underlined that the double-engine government is committed to increasing the production of this nutritious coarse grain and promoting it worldwide. The Prime Minister expressed the belief that farmers of Karnataka will play a leading role in taking this initiative forward.

Governor of Karnataka, Shri Thawar Chand Gehlot, Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri Basvaraj Bommai, Union Minister of State, Shri Bhagwant Khuba, and Ministers from the Karnataka Government among others were present on occasion.