Minister Santosh Lad has directed officials to ensure that farmers are adequately informed about government welfare schemes and instructed them to ensure mandatory installation of CCTV cameras in anganwadi centres and fertilizer distribution outlets.
Chairing a review meeting on the drought situation and the progress of development programmes at the Kalaghatgi Taluk Panchayat hall in Dharwad district on Wednesday (August 5), Mr. Lad said there should be no shortage of seeds and fertilizers for farmers.
Mr. Lad instructed officials to display information boards at fertilizer distribution centres and ensure that middlemen do not interfere in the supply process. Farmers should receive seeds and fertilisers in a timely and transparent manner, and fertilisers should not be sold above the prescribed price, he said.
The Minister noted that 85% of the crop survey in Kalaghatgi taluk had been completed, while the remaining 15% should be completed at the earliest. He asked officials to ensure that the information uploaded through the Crop Survey App was accurate and free of errors. He also emphasised on the need for creating awareness about adopting drip irrigation and diversifying crops.
Referring to deficient monsoon rainfall and 16 villages in Kalaghatagi taluk facing drinking water scarcity, the Minister instructed officials to ensure that rural areas do not face a drinking water crisis.
The Minister directed officials to undertake repairs of school and anganwadi buildings and furnish details of structures that are in a dilapidated condition. He recalled that instructions had earlier been issued to provide sheet roofing for about 140 schools and 22 anganwadi centres in the taluk. Kalaghatgi recorded a pass percentage of 98.63 in the SSLC examination, with 16 schools achieving a 100% pass rate. Kalaghatgi taluk has 210 anganwadi centres. Of these, repairs had been completed in 18 centres, while work on another 11 centres was yet to be taken up, he said.
He said that the taluk had secured the second position in the district in tax collection, with 20 gram panchayats achieving 100% tax collection. Alnavar taluk ranked first in the district.
Dharwad Zilla Panchayat CEO Bhuvanesh Patil urged farmers to utilise the VB-G RAM G scheme to construct farm ponds and adopt drip irrigation. He also instructed officials to ensure uninterrupted drinking water supply in rural areas and provide details regarding repairs required for schools and anganwadi centres.
Officials of gram panchayats who excelled in tax collection were felicitated with certificates of appreciation during the programme. The Minister also heard public grievances.
Superintendent of Police Gunjan Arya, S.R. Patil, chairman of the District Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority, Basavaraj Bhavakar, chairman of the Taluk Guarantee Schemes Committee and others were present.
Published - August 05, 2026 07:11 pm IST