Udupi: MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary said the hype created following the proposed village stay of the Social Welfare Minister H Anjaneya in Kalthodu village in Murur will be constructive only when the minister ensures that the development programmes announced by him are executed effectively.

He told reporters that the minister’s stay in the house of one Marli of Koraga community in Kalthodu village in Murur is laudable. But just a visit will not solve the problems of the community. Earlier, the minister had stayed in the house of one Baby in Padupanamburu village in Moodbidri on April 14, 2015.

Though he had announced several development programmes after the stay, none of them have been implemented. Projects worth Rs 10 crore have been announced by the minister during the period of eight months. The tendering process also has not been taken up, he regretted.

The MLC challenged the minister that the projects announced after the village stay by him should be completed within six months. If he fails to ensure effective implementation of the programmes announced by him, people will not trust him and his village stay anymore, he cautioned.

He said funds have not been released in the past three years to provide drinking water facilities in Koraga colonies. Rs 2.11 crore was released to provide basic facilities in Koraga colonies from 2008 to 2013, Rs 1.76 lakh for self-employment programme and Rs 7 lakh to develop the land allotted by the government respectively. A total of Rs 4.82 lakh was released for digging individual wells, the MLC said.

He said Koragas are unable to construct houses and the amount assured by the government is insufficient owing to the inflation. The issue was raised in the KDP meeting and a decision has been taken to hike the amount to Rs 4.50 lakh and ensure the responsibility of constructing the houses to Nirmiti Kendra. More than 500 members of Koraga community are in the waiting list.

More than 1,000 Dalit families have been residing in private land and are unable to procure the title deeds. He urged the minister to instruct the deputy commissioner to acquire the land and offer title deeds to Dalits. There are nearly 2,600 Koraga families with 11,133 population. Health allocations have not been released in the past three years.

He sought permanent health insurance, where the Koraga community people should be entitled to the reimbursement of all medical expenses and the government should take care of the medical expenses in the lifetime of each Koraga individual.