BENGALURU: With Parliament being adjourned sine die a day ahead of schedule on Tuesday, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who is in New Delhi, may finally get to sit down with BJP national president Amit Shah on Wednesday and finalise names for his cabinet and portfolios to be allocated. The CM is scheduled to return to Bengaluru in the wee hours of Thursday.
On Tuesday, however, Yediyurappa met PM Narendra Modi and a host of Union ministers with a wishlist for the state. Accompanied by party leaders Basavaraj Bommai, Jagadish Shettar, Govind Karjol and Karnataka MPs Pralhad Joshi, D V Sadananda Gowda and Shobha Karandlaje, Yediyurappa met the PM to seek the setting up of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Hubballi- Dharwad. He also submitted a memorandum requesting that a gazette notification of the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal be published and sought to declare the Upper Krishna Project Stage- 3 as a national project.
An appeal to publish a gazette notification of the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal award and clearance of the detailed project report of Mekedatu balancing reservoir-cum-drinking water project was also made.
Yediyurappa and the others also met Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajnath Singh and Narendra Singh Tomar. The CM urged the Union Transport Minister to take up certain important highway projects on priority and also sought approval for a ring road project in Shivamogga city. Chief Secretary T M Vijayabhaskar and Additional Chief Secretary (PWD) Rajneesh Goel were present at the meeting.
Yediyurappa also appealed to Narendra Singh Tomar to extend up to August 14 the cut-off date for enrolment of farmers under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna for the kharif season.
He also sought to settle pending claims under PMFBY and release of funds to meet statutory obligations under MGNREGS for the Financial Year 2019-20 and clear outstanding net advances of the state for the years 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2019-20. In his meeting with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Yediyurappa sought income tax exemption for the State Building and Other Construction Workers’ Boards by including them under Section 10 (29A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and requested for the release of Performance Grant under 14th Finance Commission to urban and rural local bodies. Courtesy visits were also paid to Defence minister Rajnath Singh and BJP working president JP Nadda.