New Upalokayukta to be appointed soon, says CM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said the state government will start the process of appointing a replacement to S B Majage, who retired as Upalokayukta in July this year

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The  meeting of the panel has been convened on December 8 to finalise the name, he told reporters here. Apart from the chief minister, Chairman of Legislative Council, Speaker of Legislative Assembly, leaders of Opposition from both Upper and Lower Houses and Chief Justice of High Court of Karnataka are the members of the committee.

After Governor Vajubhai Vala rejected the name of retired Karnataka High Court judge K L Manjunath, the government will discuss new names for the post of Upalokayukta, he said. The chief minister was in national capital to meet the party high command to finalise the party candidates for Legislative Council polls. He dismissed the Opposition charge that the Congress-led government in Karnataka was attempting to remove Upalokayukta Justice Subhash Adi apprehending that he would head the probe against the chief minister in connection with Arkavathi Layout land denotification.

Reacting to complaints of poor state of roads in Bengaluru, the Siddaramaiah said that the government will take up asphalting of all roads on a war footing once rain recedes. He said the government had released Rs 1, 500 crore to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike for road works. He also promised that this time road works would be taken up in better way and tender would be floated in transparent manner.