BJP panel ready with report on Arkavathi

 The three-member committee formed by the BJP to “find facts” about the Arkavathi Layout denotification has completed its task, party leader S S Suresh Kumar said on Tuesday. 

“Documents have been obtained, and the report will be submitted to the BJP State president Pralhad Joshi on October 10. The next course of action in the Arkavathi Layout struggle will be decided by the party’s core committee,” he said. 

The BJP had formed the committee after its floor leader in the Legislative Assembly, Jagadish Shettar, accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of denotifying 541 acres of land in the Arkavathi Layout. The government has announced a judicial probe into the allegations. 

This apart, Kumar claimed that the Congress government had rescinded a government order that banned any kind of activity within one-km radius of the Thippagondanahalli reservoir. Kumar claimed that the government had withdrawn the order despite the fact that the Thippagondanahalli area was crucial for the confluence of Arkavathi and Kumudvathi rivers. 

“This reservoir is extremely sensitive and needs preservation. The government decision to rescind the ban on industrial or civil construction activity will hurt the environment,” he noted. 

Kumar also declared his intention to stage a protest outside the office of the Additional Chief Secretary of Industries and Commerce here, for not raising the retirement age of employees at the state-run Government Tool Room and Training Centre (GTTC) from 58 years to 60 years. 

Although the retirement age for employees in government departments and state-run organisations had been raised to 60 years in 2008, at least 20 people had retired from the GTTC at 58 years, he claimed.