JOIN USGovt to act against officials aiding KIADB land grabbers
Law Minister T B Jayachandra assured on Wednesday assured the Legislative Assembly that the government will take strict action against the officials who are hand in glove with private firms which tried to gobble prime industrial land near Devanahalli in Bangalore Rural district.
He was replying to Shivalinge Gowda (JD-S). Gowda said that the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) had allotted close to 250 acres to private firms to set up a hardware park and a residential complex. Although firms have got the land at a throw-away price, they have not taken up the project. It is a big scam and action should be taken, he demanded.
Legal opinion
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in the Legislative Council that the case of KIADB selling 149 acres and five guntas of land to BPL Group in 2006 would be referred to the Lokayukta after seeking a legal opinion.
“I completely agree with the Opposition leaders that the sale of this prime land in Nelamangala was illegal. But, as the KIADB has executed an absolute sale deed relinquishing its rights over the land, it would have to be examined whether the government can initiate any probe into the deal,” the chief minister said.
Coastal tourism
Tourism Minister R V Desphande said the government has sought the Centre’s approval for a ‘mega coastal project’ which will facilitate development of 320 kms along the coast.
Replying to Sharada Mohan Shetty (Cong), Deshpande said the government has identified several tourist spots for development along the coast. Shetty said Yana, Tadadi and other tourist spots should be developed. The minister said the deputy conservator of forests, Honnavar division has submitted a Rs 15.77 crore proposal to the director, department of Tourism to develop tourist spots in the Honnavar division.
Oil Palm Bill passed
The state legislature passed the Karnataka Oil Palm (Regulation of cultivation, production and processing) Bill, 2013 which aims at regulating cultivation, production and processing of palm oil and the related matters.
Piloting the Bill in the two Houses, Agriculture Marketing and Horticulture Minister Shamnoor Shivashankarappa said Karnataka is one of the states wherein the Oil Palm Project has been taken up with the Centre’s assistance. As fresh fruit bunches of oil palm have to be processed within 24 hours of plucking to extract oil, a close co-ordination between the grower and processor is necessary. Hence, a separate legislation is required. The bill was passed without any debate.
Donation menace
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Rathnakar said that the government has issued notices to six private schools in Bangalore for allegedly collecting exorbitant donations and fees from parents.
In a written reply to V Sunil Kumar (BJP), the minister said the block education officers and the deputy directors of the department of Public Instruction have issued notices to these schools following complaints of collection of exorbitant donation and fees.
These schools are as follows: Sarvodaya National Public School, Vijayanagar; Army Public School, J C Nagar; Goodwill Girls High School, Frazer Town; St.Marys' School, Rajajinagar; B M S English Higher Primary School, St.John's road; Apollo Primary and High School. The managements of these schools have filed a case in this regard in the Karnataka High Court, he stated.
The court had directed the government to conduct a workshop on fixing the fee and submit a report. Accordingly, the workshop was conducted on May 19, 2013 and a report was filed. The case is now before a division bench of the High Court, the minister stated.
At the district level, District Education Control Authority headed by the deputy commissioner has been set up. It has powers to issue notices to schools and take action on receiving complaints on donation and fee collection, he said.