HUBBALLI: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who is in his hometown Hubballi for three days to celebrate Deepavali, clarified that he has no plans to expand his cabinet. He told the media on Friday that he was not called by the central leadership to discuss cabinet expansion.
He is not going to Delhi on November 7 and will be attending the National Executive meeting via video conference. It may be recalled that a number of aspirants, including Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, had visited New Delhi, demanding that they be included in the state cabinet.
On the state government’s decision to reduce fuel prices by Rs 7, he said, “Experts have said that reducing fuel prices will increase supply and consumption. Following the cut, the state exchequer will face a loss of Rs 2,100 crore.”
Bommai, who took over as chief minister on July 28, and has completed 100 days, said, “I am satisfied with the decisions taken with regard to taking administration in the right direction, by taking officials into confidence.” He said that in his 100 days of administration, he has introduced many welfare schemes for farmers, the poor and needy. The Janasevaka programme will be available at the doorsteps of people by January 26, he said.
“I have two plans -- one is to improve the system and see to it the government and its programmes reach the people. Second is utilising human resources effectively, with economic progress. For example, though our per capita income is among top five states, there has to be contribution from all sections of society, like SC/ST, OBC, poor and women, in our economic progress. We are working on it.”
To improve administration, he has introduced a CM Dashboard system where officials can keep watch on regular developments and he will review it once a fortnight. He said it is in line with the Prime Minister’s Office, which facilitates him to review the progress of various departments on a digital platform, as a major step towards administrative reform.