BALLARI: February 27 will be a big day for the students of Ballari district, particularly from those areas affected by mining. The State Government will distribute money to those studying in Government and aided schools and colleges.
Ahead of elections, the government suddenly seems to have realised that the District Mining Fund - the royalty collected from mining firms for the welfare of people – has been lying unutilised. It has decided to distribute the money to the students. The state government’s move has raised many eyebrows in the district as many believe that it might have overlooked the Supreme Court guidelines on utilisation of the fund.
Hospet tahsildhar Vishwanath said that a programme is being organised in this connection, but refused to divulge further information, saying that the department of mines and geology is taking care of the matter.
“I am just helping them organise the event,” he said. The Municipal College Ground at Hospet has been decked up for the mega event and the cash will be distributed to the students by District Minister Santosh Lad.
Interestingly S G Mahaveer, senior official in the department of mines and geology in Hospet just passed the buck saying that the event is organised by the deputy Commissioner of Ballari. He refused to reveal much about the programme except that nearly `500 crore of mining fund has been collected and the fund should be utilised for development of schools like constructing toilets, modernising class rooms, hiring teachers and other works.
A top official of the education department on condition of anonymity told Express that nearly 16,000 students in the district will be getting money on the day.The move has surprised many people including teachers of the government schools and thinkers who strongly suspect the government move.
‘Attempt to pay for votes’
Sirigere Ponniraj, Ballari district president of Hyderabad-Karnataka Horata Samithi said, “this is clearly in violation of the Supreme Court directions which says that the fund should be utilised for the welfare of mining affected areas.” The district mining fund is directly under the deputy commissioner. It is meant for revival and rehabilitation of the mining affected areas. There is no doubt that the government is using the money to pay for voters,” he said. However, Deputy Commissioner Ram Prasath Manohar said the programme is approved by the government long ago and it will be done on a major scale under the title Ballari Belaku.
No violation of SC guidelines: DC
As of now unutilised DMF fund amounts to approximately K220 crore. Of which 9-10 crore will be paid to students. Education is the most important aspect in the region. The DC says it is very much within the guidelines of Supreme Court.