JOIN USPlan to develop small towns okayed
The State Cabinet on Thursday approved phase 2 of the chief minister’s Small and Medium Town Development Programme (CMSMTDP) of Rs 1,738 crore, which will be implemented in a span of three years.
Briefing the Cabinet decisions to the media, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar said that 80 per cent of the fund would be spent on the development of roads, while the remaining 20 per cent would be used for construction of shoulder drains.
It has been decided to immediately call tenders for projects to the tune of Rs 1,390 crore, he said.
Of the total fund, urban local bodies located in district headquarters have been allocated Rs 30 crore each, Rs 15 crore each to CMCs located outside district headquarters limits, Rs 5 crore to TMCs and Rs 2 crore to other small towns, he said.
The Cabinet also approved a Rs 5.58-crore project for the development of a stretch of road between the railway station and Hampi Road in Hospet under CMSMTDP.
Fast-track courts
The Minister said that the Cabinet gave approval for setting up 124 new district and taluk level courts across the State. Besides, it also decided to extend the term of about 30 existing fast-track courts till March, 2015 and close down 54 existing fast-track courts.
The decision has been taken based on the directions of the Supreme Court, he said.
The Cabinet gave its nod for the proposal to construct a memorial in the name of Swami Vivekananda on the occasion of his 150th jayanti in Belgaum.
The monk had visited Belgaum in 1892. The government has already declared the place where he had stayed, an heritage building.
Ramakrishna Mission of Belgaum has come up with a proposal to construct the memorial on a 150x80 sq ft plot next to the heritage building. The Cabinet decided to provide the land to the Mission free of cost.
The Centre has agreed to release Rs 10 crore for the construction of the memorial, he said.
The Cabinet deferred an item on the agenda seeking ratification for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to conduct a comprehensive probe on the Lokayukta report on illegal mining. The SIT is headed by senior IFS officer Deepak Sharma.
The SIT was tasked to probe illegal mining and extraction of ore, transportation of ore for local consumption and export, creation of benami organisations for the purpose of saving on taxes and investing money to avoid taxes as reported in the Lokayukta report.
Sources said that Sharma has requested the government to relieve him from the post of the head of the SIT. When contacted, he refused to explain the reasons for his decision.