Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda criticises delay in NH-75 bypass road work

HASSAN: Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Friday lambasted the slow pace of work on the National Highway-75 (NH-75) bypass road in Hassan district and pulled up officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) over the prolonged delay in the project.

The minister made the remarks while inspecting the ongoing road work on Sakleshpur Road in Dorangallu section. During the inspection on Friday, he questioned the concerned officials about the reasons for the delay and asked whether the slow progress had been properly reported to the Central government.

Expressing strong displeasure over the pace of execution, the minister reprimanded an NHAI official and accused him of giving misleading explanations.

“How many lies do you tell? We have lost our self-respect and are talking to people like you. Do you know what self-respect is? If it were anyone else, they would have slapped you”, he told the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) official while speaking to him in Kannada.

District Collector K S Latha Kumari, who was present during the inspection, informed the minister that the delay in the project had been continuing for the last six months. She brought the issue to the attention of the in-charge minister on the spot and underlined the need for immediate corrective measures to expedite the work.

The road work on Sakleshpur Road in the Dorangallu section has reportedly progressed at a very slow pace. Following the inspection, state officials were instructed to visit the site, closely monitor the progress and ensure that the pending work is completed at the earliest without further delay.

National Highway-75, earlier known as National Highway-48, is a key arterial route that provides connectivity from the port city of Mangaluru on the western coast to Vellore on the eastern side. The highway passes through the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and plays a crucial role in facilitating the movement of goods and passengers. The bypass road is an important part of this network and is intended to ease traffic congestion in the region.

Meanwhile, on January 9, Krishna Byre Gowda said that the verification process for the Kogilu house allotment issue under the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Scheme was being carried out by multiple departments. He stated that no house allotments will take place until the eligibility of beneficiaries is confirmed strictly as per the guidelines.

“The Housing, police, Revenue Departments and BDA have all conducted verification as per the prescribed guidelines to identify eligible beneficiaries. The verification process is still ongoing. It will take time to complete the entire verification. We have instructed that once the first list is released, houses should be allotted only to those who are found eligible. We have sent the cases to the Police and Revenue Departments for verification”, said Gowda.

He further added, “Until the verification is completed, it would not be appropriate for us to comment on this matter. There will be no house allotment today. I have spoken to the Housing Minister. Eligibility must strictly be as per all the rules. Both the Housing Minister and we have decided that no rules should be bypassed or deviated from. We had thought the verification would be completed by now, but it is still in progress. We are not exerting pressure on anyone to get things done.”

On January 3, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka had demanded that Kannadigas be given priority in house allocation at Kogilu Cross under the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation schemes. Around 65,000 people have reportedly applied for houses under the scheme. (ANI)