Belthangady : District-in-Charge Minister B Ramanath Rai distributes wheelchairs to beneficiaries at janata darshan programme held at Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Auditorium in Belthangady  here on Wednesday, Oct 29.

After distributing the wheelchairs B Ramanath Rai, Minister for Forests, Ecology and Environment and District-in-Charge Minister said that, Janata darshan will be held at every taluk to accelerate the process of clearing the applications submitted by the people. The programme aims at providing social justice to people belonging to backward classes.

Rai said that the Janata darshan programme at Belthangady is first of its kind in the district and added that the programme will be held again in Belthangady after three months.

The applications received during Janata darshan in Belthangady on Wednesday will be cleared by November 10, he said.

The applications related to the regularisation of land under akrama sakrama, Rajiv Gandhi electrification scheme and financial assistance will be prioritised. Also, the provision of basic amenities for the rehabilitated people of Kudremukh National Park will also be given due importance along with others, he said.

Stressing on the need for bringing forest dwellers to the mainstream of society, Rai said around 80 per cent of forest dwellers have been benefited from Forest Rights Act. While distributing title deeds to traditional forest dwellers, old applications will also be considered along with the new applications.

A scheme to provide a monthly pension of Rs 1500 through the department of social welfare has also been initiated, he said. He said that janata darshan will be held at Bantwal on November 12.

Belthangady MLA Vasanth Bangera said that the government gives Rs 10 lakh to the people while evicting them from Maoist-infested areas. However, the amount is meagre.

“The compensation amount should be hiked to Rs 50 lakh from Rs 25 lakh. The government should initiate action in this regard. If a huge amount of compensation is paid, then the forest dwellers will be ready to come out of the forest within six months.”

Several people are deprived of ration cards in the taluk owing to the negligence of the department officials, he said.

During Janata darshan, facilities under various government schemes were distributed to 269 beneficiaries. The various benefits and the number of people availing the benefits during Janata darshan are as follows: social security pensions – 152, National family assistance scheme – 4, cultivation chits-12, title deeds-41, natural calamity compensation-30, compensation under wildlife menace – 13, agricultural equipment -5, horticultural drip irrigation – 1, equipment given by gram panchayat – 11.

At Janata darshan, more than 250 applications were received, seeking regularisation of land under Akrama Sakrama, financial assistance under various schemes, and distribution of title deeds.

Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Tulasi Maddineni and district and taluk level officials of government departments were present.