Bengaluru: Governor Vajubhai Vala has said the state government has been maintaining peace and dealing firmly with sporadic incidents of violence in the state.

Vala was addressing the joint session of the Karnataka legislature on Monday in Vidhana Soudha. Opposition parties have been charging the home department with failure to maintain law and order in the state.

Reading out the speech in Hindi, the governor said several measures have been taken to strengthen and modernise the police. The process to recruit 8,585 additional police personnel during the current year has begun. In 2015-16, 282 sub-inspectors and 5,653 police constables were recruited, he pointed out.

Undeterred by criticism that the government has weakened the Lokayukta institution and established the Anti Corruption Bureau, the governor said the autonomous ACB has been set up to strengthen the anti-corruption machinery. The bureau has disposed of 2,249 of the 3,401 petitions and has registered 153 cases. In addition, vigilance cells have been set up in all departments, he added.

The government claimed that in the last four years it has taken steps to promote the development of an inclusive society where all sections of society have equitable access to opportunities and resources.

Referring to the prevailing drought, the governor said the unprecedented and consecutive drought for the last six years in the state has seriously disrupted the livelihood of farmers. A sum of Rs 1,195 crore has been released since April last for drought relief.

The government had promised to invest Rs 50,000 crore for irrigation in five years, and in the past four years, Rs 42,540 crore was provided to major and medium irrigation projects, he pointed out.

The governor announced that the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Development Corporation is taking steps to establish new industrial estates at Sarathi (Davangere district), Chikkahosahalli (near Anekal, Bengaluru Urban), Muttugadahalli (Bengaluru Rural), Ullarthikaval and Kudapura (Chitradurga) and Hireshakunahalli (Shivamogga).

Not missing an opportunity to hit out at the Centre, the government said there have been many changes in the structure of Centrally sponsored sch-emes involving allocation to the state, sharing pattern and components of the schemes. Though such changes would have affected the schemes at the ground level, the government has ensured that they continue to be implemented smoothly.