• Bangalore is said to lack proper infrastructure. Recently, the rains brought the city to a standstill. Why didn’t your government accord top priority to the country’s Silicon Valley?Kaushik Guha, KolkataBangalore received an unprecedented rainfall for the month resulting in overflowing of several lakes in the city and inundation of low-lying parts. Several other parts of the city functioned normally. My government took corrective measures and brought back normalcy quickly. I personally visited several rain-affected areas to take stock of the situation. My government has set up a committee, that includes members of IT and other industries, to review infrastructure development. The blueprint of a plan to repair roads is ready. We are waiting for the rains to stop. • Both urban and rural Karnataka are not doing well. While an IT hub like Bangalore suffers from bad roads and other civic problems, there have been reports of farmers committing suicide as they are unable to repay bank loans due to crop failure. Please comment.Ravi Prasad, Delhi The coalition government is committed to the development of the entire state —both urban and rural Karnataka. My government has taken several initiatives to mitigate the problems which the rural population is facing including those of power, health insurance for farmers and devolution of power to panchayat institutions. Ring roads, flyovers and underpasses have been constructed in Bangalore to ease traffic congestion. Let me clarify that there have not been any case of farmers committing suicide because of non-payment of bank loans in my state. We have introduced loans at nominal rates. This scheme is even being studied by other states for implementation. • In the row between H.D. Deve Gowda and Infosys chief N.R. Narayana Murthy, why did your government act as a silent spectator?Reena Tiwari, Lucknow The fact is, the day Narayana Murthy announced his resignation I called and discussed the matter with him. As he was travelling overseas, I called him later again and urged him to reconsider his decision to quit the chairmanship of Bangalore International Airport Limited. • Land and office space is a major concern for the IT industry as the recent Gowda-Murthy row has shown. What is the land allotment policy at present and how is your government planning to allot land for the IT industry in the future?Amit Gupta, New Delhi We have a nodal agency KIADB (Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board) which promotes orderly development of industries in the state. The agency helps industries with land acquisition and development besides taking care of all other infrastructure needs. KIADB has so far developed 95 industrial areas, spread in 24 districts. Any request for land allotment from IT, or any other industry, is studied by the core committee of the KIADB and the decision is taken according to availability of land and the choice of the applicant. • Is the IT sector’s criticism of your government unjustified? After all, the breakdown in infrastructure and shift of focus away from Bangalore began after the coalition came to power in 2004.Shweta Singh, Chandigarh Criticism actually helps change things and put them on the track of progress, hence the question of justified or unjustified doesn't arise. With regard to shift of focus away from Bangalore, it is like not putting all eggs in one basket. We want the entire state to prosper. We don’t want development to be confined to Bangalore. In order to encourage investments in other cities we are developing Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli and Belgaum. • Isn’t Bangalore losing its IT capital status due to loss of image following the recent row? What are you doing to correct this downslide? Anees Ahmed, Mumbai Bangalore is and will remain the technology capital of India. My government has industry-friendly policy and has been successful in attracting large investments. More than 100 technology companies have invested over Rs 1,600 crore in Bangalore early this year. We are pursuing several public-private partnerships in key projects and International Airport Project is one such example. • Karnataka made a headstart in private participation in governance. The Narayana Murthy-Deve Gowda fight has set this back. Is the coalition opposed to private participation inurban governance?Vijay D’Souza, Bangalore My Government is committed to provide good governance in the state and urban governance is a part of this. • How has Narayana Murthy’s resignation affected Bangalore ’s international airport project?Mukesh Kumar, Nagpur The work on the International Airport project is going on as planned. The airport will be ready for operations on, or before, the scheduled time. I have asked Mr Murthy to reconsider his decision and continue as Chairman of Bangalore International Airport Limited.
