BENGALURU: Stepping up efforts to tackle the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Bengaluru, the State Cabinet on Thursday decided to have ministers in charge of each BBMP zone in the city. It also approved enhancing the contingency fund limit to Rs 500 crore in the wake of the pandemic.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said one minister will be given charge of each of the eight zones to oversee containment measures. By Thursday evening, State Chief Secretary T M Vijaya Bhaskar appointed eight senior IAS officers to take charge of the eight zones. The officials have been empowered to not just supervise Covid-19 containment measures, but also pass orders as they deem fit to arrest the spread of the virus.
Senior IAS officers Tushar Girinath (Bengaluru East), Rajendra Kumar Kataria (West), Captain P Manivannan (Bommanahalli), Navin Raj Singh (Yelahanka), Munish Moudgil (Bengaluru South), Dr N Manjula (Mahadevapura), Dr P C Jaffer (Dasarahalli) and Dr R Vishal (RR Nagar) have been appointed as executive chiefs.
Increasing Contingency Fund limit a one-time measure, says minister
Deputy Chief Minister Ashwathnarayana, Ministers V Somanna, R Ashok, Suresh Kumar, S T Somashekhar, Byrati Basavaraj, K Gopalaiah and the Chief Minister’s Political Secretary, S R Vishwanath, are set to be named in-charge of the eight zones in Bengaluru.
The cabinet on Thursday also approved an ordinance increasing the ceiling on the Contingency Fund from Rs 80 crore to Rs 500 crore to meet expenses towards the Covid-19 economic relief package.
“This is a one-time measure since the government needs to release funds to various beneficiaries like farmers, barbers, weavers, auto and cab drivers, etc., as announced in the relief package,” said Madhuswamy.
The Contingency Fund allows the government to spend on non-budgeted expenses. As part of its Covid-19-related decisions, the cabinet approved Rs 207 crore for setting up of high-flow medical oxygen pipelines, civil and electrical works, scaling up of beds and facilities at taluk- and district-level Covid-19-designated hospitals. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who had initially planned a meeting with all Bengaluru MPs, MLAs and corporators to review the situation, cancelled it to instead focus on zone-wise meetings.