BENGALURU: Karnataka State Policy and Planning Commission (KSPPC) has recommended the government construct a 350-km-long ‘green wall’ in North Karnataka from Belagavi to Bidar covering five districts to check expansion of desertification. KSPPC has also suggested the government set aside Rs 15 crore for a feasibility study.
It will be on the model of the 7,800- km Great Green Wall of Africa, covering 22 countries, and the 1,400- km-long ‘Great Green Wall of India’ proposed between Gujarat and Haryana, covering four states.
The commission’s deputy chairman B R Patil, Aland MLA, on Thursday submitted the 210-page report, including the recommendations of the five sub-committees to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to include it in the State Budget 2026-27 which he will present on March 6. The Commission has suggested that the State Budget speech should highlight that the Centre is not adhering to federal principles as it has reduced the ratio of its funding for centrally sponsored schemes.
Despite many appeals, the Centre did not sanction AIIMS to Raichur, it pointed out. It has also suggested putting an end to the district in-charge ministers’ governed system noting that it is detrimental to decentralisation of power in the three- tier system as GP/TP/ZP have become puppets of ministers.
KSPPC has recommended revision of State Climate Action Plan (KSAPCC) from gram panchayats to State.
It has also suggested ‘My Rain’, a community rainfall monitoring through schools and institutions by utilising the services of teachers and students of 15,867 secondary schools.
The commission also recommended installation of doppler weather radars through KSNDMC, developing of ultra-local hybrid weather and climate prediction models (IISWAD) and climate-smart agriculture analytics using satellite, IoT, GIS and AI.
The other recommendations include: monitoring of 3,000 tanks under Minor Irrigation Department, air quality monitoring expansion using crowd-sourcing, digital environmental monitoring of mining areas, Know Your Borewell (KYB) groundwater monitoring program, Climate-resilient land use including agroforestry and carbon credits, micro-algae fertilizers and cattle supplements (PPP exploration), seaweed-based super absorbent polymers for water retention, climate resilience training program for youth (3CRA) and community awareness programs via FPOs and institutions.
It has been also recommended to set up a high-level ecosystem oversight committee, strengthening of Centre for Environment Education (CEE), upgrading of EMPRI into Directorate of Ecology & Environment, promotion of data integration and analytics for climate governance.
Restore free bicycle: The commission has recommended developing comprehensive guidelines and expanding coverage to children aged 3-16 years under Right to Education (RTE) and eliminating guest teacher dependence and filling all sanctioned vacancies on priority. It also recommended restoration of free bicycle scheme to increase enrollment and retention to check dropout rate.
With regard to technology and AI in education it has recommended constituting a high-level committee to regulate and guide ethical use of technology in education besides establishing a Government School Development Authority (GSDA) for monitoring and improvement.
The commission has recommended establishing Karnataka State Research Grant Foundation (KSRGF) with an initial funding of Rs 100 crore. It also suggested introducing skill courses every semester with mandatory internships/projects, bringing reforms in curriculum, review and redesign undergraduate and postgraduate programs based on changing economic needs and AI impact through a multidisciplinary task force, undertake comprehensive restructuring before large-scale faculty recruitment and continuation of guest faculty temporarily where needed.
Health, Nutrition, Sanitation & Water
The commission has suggested improving implementation efficiency of existing programs rather than increasing schemes or budgets. The report recommended establishing a Agricultural Land Use Board and promotion of collective farming. It also mooted market reforms ensuring remunerative prices with legal MSP protection and a Farmer Income Commission and the state-led Crop Income Insurance scheme.