BENGALURU: Former chief minister and Congress Working Committee member Siddaramaiah on Thursday gave the DK Shivakumar-led government a positive assessment of its first 100 days, but urged it to fulfil the remaining poll promises, continue the five guarantees and address drought during the rest of its term.Inaugurating the Drudha Karnataka Sankalpa programme at Vidhana Soudha, Siddaramaiah said the 100-day milestone should be used to assess the government’s performance rather than merely celebrate it.“I feel Shivakumar has been making efforts to continue the guarantees and introduce new programmes. It is moving in the right direction,” he said.Siddaramaiah said governments in a democracy were accountable to the people and had to periodically assess whether their commitments were being implemented.“These days are not meant merely for celebration. They are an opportunity and a responsibility to place before ourselves whether we are moving in the right direction or not,” he said.Earlier, Shivakumar launched several initiatives to mark 100 days in office, including Seva One, Raitha Chaitanya, a CSR portal for schools, free bus passes for students, the BMTC and One Karnataka mobility apps, and a programme to install retrofit emission control devices.He also signed orders to distribute five lakh housing sites to landless families and implement the Sainika Sammana scheme.Shivakumar said the government was targeting a $1 trillion economy by 2037 and aimed to bring malnutrition, school dropouts and poverty below 5%.The government also plans to provide free houses and sites for homeless SC and ST families in rural areas, upgrade infrastructure in SC and ST residential areas and provide self-employment support to 50,000 youths from SC, ST, backward-class and minority communities over two years.Under Mukhya Mantri Negila Yogi, farmers owning up to three acres will get a 50% subsidy on farm machinery hire, capped at Rs 4,500 annually.The CM Raita Chaitanya Digital Agri-tech Mission will use drone and satellite surveys to provide crop and market data. Other initiatives include an agriculture and allied sectors export mission, Comprehensive Rainfed Agriculture Policy, Tegada Siri and Karnataka Protein Mission.Under Tegada Siri, landowners will receive free saplings and 70% of the sale revenue after harvest. Gramanubhava will enable students to spend one or two nights in villages.The government will establish 10,000 Bharat Jodo Yuva Sanghas with Rs 1,000 crore.Udyoga Nidhi will provide Rs 2,500 for each private-sector job created in rural areas outside Bengaluru.The CM said Rs 43,214 crore in investment proposals had been approved. A Rs 20,000-crore industrial cluster across 4,000 acres in Doddaballapur was also approved.The government plans to establish tele-ICUs in all taluks, 1,000 cremation grounds, and aerospace, defence, textiles and Ballari jeans parks.
