KMERC MD Pushes for Faster Redevelopment in Mining-affected Areas

Chairing a review meeting at the NMDC training hall in Donimalai, Dr Bijjur noted that as per the State Government’s directions, a status report on development works in mining-hit villages must be submitted to the Supreme Court once every six months.

“Officials must treat these projects with urgency and ensure there are no delays in execution,” he said.

He instructed officials to conduct field visits to mining-affected villages and identify gaps in basic amenities. Rural road conditions must be assessed comprehensively, he said, directing PWD officials to submit a single consolidated proposal instead of multiple fragmented ones.

Emphasising livelihood improvement in mining-affected areas, Dr Bijjur noted that several departmental proposals were still pending and must be submitted immediately. Wherever additions or deletions are needed, revised proposals should be filed, followed by the preparation of detailed project reports (DPRs) once approvals are granted.

He also informed the meeting that approval had been given for repair works in student hostels in the taluk. Departments including Social Welfare, Backward Classes Welfare, Minority Welfare and ST Welfare were asked to prepare DPRs for hostels under their jurisdiction and forward them to the PWD to begin repair work.

To streamline implementation, Dr. Bijjur asked tahsildars, assistant commissioners and other senior officers to hold a weekly review meeting every Tuesday under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner. These meetings will specifically focus on land acquisition issues related to drinking water supply, sanitation and road development works in Ballari and Sandur taluks.

For housing projects, he said coordination meetings must be held with the Zilla Panchayat CEO.

During his visit, Dr Bijjur also reviewed the implementation of KMERC’s CEPMIZ project to provide green gram (usulikaalu) to high school students at the Government High School in Donimalai.

Interacting with the students, he asked whether they were receiving the prescribed quantity and whether the food was palatable. He advised them to inform their teachers if the servings were inadequate and also checked whether fruits were being supplied as part of the programme.

He instructed the cooking staff to ensure that only good-quality, properly sprouted lentils were used, hygiene was maintained, and the green gram was thoroughly cooked before being served.

Dr. Bijjur later distributed the green gram to the students himself and even tasted it to assess its quality. He also visited and inspected the Sandur taluk stadium.