Madikeri: The SDPI on Thursday charged that the Mysuru-Kushalnagar rail project was cancelled due to rivalry between the state and the Union govts.In the upcoming budget, Karnataka govt should allocate funds for the railway project in Kodagu, and start the land acquisition process, the SDPI Kodagu district unit president Ameen Mohisin told reporters. He also demanded a special package of Rs 500 crore for the district in the upcoming state budget and Rs 2,500 crore for Kodagu tourism.
SDPI also demanded that the state reconsider its decision to cancel the BPL cards in Kodagu district. He claimed that over 4,500 BPL cards were cancelled in the district. The Union govt guidelines specify that those with an income of less than Rs 8 lakh per annum are in the economically weaker section. However, the state govt guidelines fixed the ceiling at Rs 1.2 lakh a year, and using the same yardstick, cancelled the BPL cards. This is an injustice to the poor, he said.
