Karnataka Cabinet decides to shift Bengaluru turf club to Kunigal stud farm

Bengaluru: The State Cabinet on Thursday decided to lease the 110 acres and 20 guntas of land at the Kunigal stud farm to Bengaluru Turf Club for a period of 29 years.

Addressing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said, “The Cabinet has decided to lease 101 acres and 24 guntas of land in block A and 8 acres and 36 guntas of land in block B (overall 110 acres and 20 guntas of land) to the Bengaluru turf club for a period of 29 years by setting a lease amount at 2.5% of the guidance value.”

The turf club is expected to vacate the current location in Bengaluru in two years. The existing turf club area will be protected as a lung space.

Stating that the club had not paid the dues to the government since January 1, 2010, Patil noted that there has been litigation between the turf club and the state government, which has gone till the Supreme Court.

“The government had urged the turf club to pay 2% of its annual turnover in addition to the dues that haven’t been paid,” the minister said, adding that it was one of the preconditions being made by the government.

Shakti scheme cards

The Cabinet also decided to issue smart cards for the beneficiaries of the Shakti scheme — one of the five flagship guarantee schemes of the Congress government that provides free travel to women in state-owned non-premium buses.

When asked about when the smart cards will be rolled out, Patil said: “We haven’t given any specific date. Some preparations need to be made, after which it will be brought into force.”

Law Dept to study SIR

The minister noted that the Cabinet had urged the Law Department to study the SIR matter in detail and give its inputs.

“Cabinet seriously discussed the SIR. Some methods being used elsewhere (in other states) were discussed. Legal issues were also discussed. Cabinet has urged the law department to study it in detail.”

Other decisions

The Cabinet also decided to implement a One-time Settlement (OTS) scheme related to stone mining by amending rules framed in 1994. It was also decided that the local MLA has to be invited while inaugurating buildings of high courts and other subordinate courts built under government grants, if there are no pending court cases against the MLA.

The Cabinet decided that referral subsidies will be provided at government rates to patients going to four reputed private medical establishments in Bengaluru (St John Medical College, M S Ramaiah Medical College, Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) and Dr Ambedkar Medical College Institute) on a trial basis for one year.

Budget on March 06

The state Cabinet decided on Thursday that the Karnataka State Budget will be tabled on March 06.

The 14-day full-fledged Budget session will be held from March 06-27. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is expected to table his record-extending 17th Budget.