Page 12 - Karnataka Government

Has Congress-led Karnataka govt been able to live up to its 'guarantees'

A debate is simmering in Karnataka: About the performance of the "Congress guarantees" that brought the party to power in the state in May last year. Aditi Phadnis explains

BJP, JD(S) target Cong in K'taka over relief to those affected due to rains

The opposition BJP and JD(S) in Karnataka on Sunday targeted the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, accusing it of having failed to provide immediate relief to those affected by flooding and landslides in several parts of the state, due to heavy monsoon showers. Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka of BJP and Union Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy today together visited rain and landslide affected areas in the districts, especially along the National Highway near Sakleshpur. While Ashoka claimed that the government was "dead" and too busy with scams to respond to the needs of the people, Kumaraswamy questioned the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues not visiting the affected areas so far. Monsoon rains in Karnataka since June have been 22 per cent above normal and have caused flooding and landslides, especially in coastal and malnad districts of the state. "Due to more rains this year there have been incidents of landslides and destruction, even deaths...

BJP unit in Karnataka dares Congress govt to probe scams during its rule

The BJP in Karnataka on Saturday challenged the Congress government to order a probe into the '21 scams' that allegedly took place during the last five years, when the saffron party was in power. The party accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah headed government of 'shielding' those involved in the Rs 187 crore scam in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation. "The Chief Minister has said 21 scams have taken place during the BJP rule. You have been in power for the past 15 months. Why did you take so much time to investigate these scams? We are ready for a probe," Leader of the Opposition Party (LOP) R Ashoka said in a press conference. He said, "The way Rs 88 crore of Valmiki Corporation was 'Khata-Khat' transferred to different bank accounts in Telangana, you should have 'Khata-Khat' investigated the allegations of irregularities against us." Ashoka, a former Deputy Chief Minister, accused Siddaramaiah of trying to put the blame on Valmiki Corporation

K'taka plans to raise IT staff working hours to 14; unions call it inhuman

IT sector unions have come out in public in protest against the move, calling it 'inhuman', that will have implications on 2 million workers in the state.

Cong-led Karnataka govt puts job quota Bill on hold after industry furore

Nasscom said it is seeking an urgent meeting for industry representatives with state authorities to discuss the concerns

Parochial economics

Karnataka's proposed job reservation law is regressive

Karnataka approves bill mandating companies give 50-70% of jobs to locals

Industry leaders criticised the bill, saying it would discriminate against those from outside the state who want to work there

K'taka approves bill for 100% reservation for Kannadigas in private firms

The Karnataka cabinet has approved a bill mandating 100 per cent reservation for Kannadigas in private firms for Group C and Group D posts, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday. The decision was taken in the Cabinet meeting held on Monday, he said. "The Cabinet meeting held yesterday approved a bill to make recruitment of 100 per cent Kannadigas mandatory for 'C and D' grade posts in all private industries in the state," Siddaramaiah said in a post on X. "We are a pro-Kannada government. Our priority is to look after the welfare of the Kannadigas," the CM said. According to sources in the law department, the 'Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024' will be tabled on Thursday in the Assembly. On the appointment of 'Local Candidates', the bill, a copy of which is with PTI, says, "Any industry, factory or other establishments shall appoint fifty percent of local candidates in management categories and sev

Karnataka DCM to hold meeting for improving inter-agency coordination

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said he would hold a meeting with all the MLAs and MPs of Bengaluru on July 27 to discuss improving coordination among various agencies in the city for better governance. Shivakumar, who is also the Minister in-charge for Bengaluru Development was replying to Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka and BJP MLAs S Suresh Kumar and K C Ramamurthy, during the Question Hour in the Legislative Assembly. "I agree with the concerns raised by the members of the House. There is a lack of coordination among various agencies in Bengaluru. We have done a lot of work to improve the inter-agency coordination over the last one year, but we have had only partial success. "If the Opposition members cooperate, we can discuss various coordination issues such as traffic congestion, drinking water, waste disposal, street lights, tax collection, etc in the meeting," Shivakumar said. "We can either hold a detailed discussion in the House or we can hold

Karnataka govt employees to get 58.5% salary, pension hike: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the salary and pension of the state government employees will increase by 58.5 per cent to the basic pay as of July 1, 2022 as recommended by the Seventh Pay Commission. The revision of salary and pension will come into effect from August 1 this year and will see a 32 per cent increase in the house rent allowance. As per the recommendations of the Commission, the salary, salary-related allowances, and pensions of government employees will be revised with effect from August 1, 2024, as decided in the Cabinet meeting held on July 15, Siddaramaiah said in a statement. Accordingly, the salary and pensions will be revised by adding 31 per cent Dearness Allowance and fitment of 27.50 per cent to the basic pay of the employee as of July 1, 2022, he added. "This will increase the basic salary and pension of the employees by 58.50 per cent. There will be an increase of 32 per cent in house rent allowance," the statement read. "The minim

MUDA scam: BJP to hold mega protest in Mysuru on July 12, asks CM to resign

Karnataka BJP will be holding a "mega" protest in Mysuru on July 12 in connection with an alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which involves plots given to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi, its president B Y Vijayendra said on Wednesday, and demanded the CM's resignation. The protesters will demand allocation of sites to the poor by withdrawing those distributed illegally, and a CBI probe into the "scam" as the allegations are against the Chief Minister and his family, he said, adding that the BJP will also raise the issue during the coming Assembly session. It is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by the MUDA. The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential ...

MUDA Scam: Complaint filed against K'taka CM, 9 others for forgery

The complaint also alleges the involvement of the deputy commissioner, tahsildar, deputy registrar and MUDA officials in the same case

Karnataka government to come up with a state data exchange framework

The government is also working on revising the existing state data policy in line with the DPDP Act

KMF achieves milestone, procures one crore litres of milk a day: CM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the Karnataka Milk Federation -- known for its 'Nandini' brand of dairy products -- has achieved a milestone of procuring one crore litres of milk a day from farmers. The milk production in Karnataka was 90 lakh litres a day in May last year. Now, the KMF is getting one crore litres of milk a day. This is a milestone in the history of KMF, Siddaramaiah said. He recalled that when he was the Animal Husbandry Minister many years ago, he had handed over management of dairies to milk unions. The Chief Minister said the State now has 15 milk unions, 15 mother dairies and 16,000 societies of milk growers. He said the quantity of milk in half and one litre milk packets of 'Nandini" has been increased by 50 ML due to the rising milk procurement, and proportionately prices were increased by Rs two recently. Due to the increase in milk production, we have increased the milk quantity in the packets. This has been done because we cannot say to the m

Karnataka Labour Minister presses Byju's to resolve former employees' dues

Labour Minister Santosh Lad revealed that approximately 160 to 200 employees had approached the Labour Department, with total outstanding dues amounting to around Rs 4.5 crore

Karnataka govt set to introduce draft Bill to protect gig workers' rights

The draft Bill will reportedly ensure protections such as grievance redressal and safeguards against unjust dismissal for gig workers in ride-hailing and delivery services

H D Revanna alleges conspiracy behind abuse charges against son Suraj

JD(S) MLA and former Karnataka Minister H D Revanna on Sunday termed the allegations against his son and MLC Suraj Revanna of sexually abusing a male party worker as a "conspiracy" and said he has faith in God and the judiciary. Not wanting to react to anything, he said when time comes he will tell everything. Suraj Revanna -- the brother of former MP Prajwal Revanna who is facing allegations of sexually abusing several women -- was arrested in Hassan earlier in the day on charges of "unnatural offences" against him, police sources said. He was booked on Saturday for allegedly sexually abusing a party worker a few days ago and under different sections of the IPC, including "unnatural offences." "I won't react to anything. Let the (CID) do it (investigation). Who said don't (investigate)? I won't say anything on this. I have respect for the judiciary. I know what's happening in the state," Revanna said. While speaking to reporters here, he said, "I won't react to anything. I have

K'taka aims to achieve industrial growth of 15-16%, says CM Siddaramaiah

The government's vision extends beyond urban centres, intending to spread industries to rural regions, particularly Kalyana Karnataka, through focused cluster development initiatives

K'taka HC grants anticipatory bail to Bhavani Revanna in kidnapping case

Karnataka High Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to Bhavani Revanna, mother of former JD(S) MP and rape accused Prajwal Revanna, in a kidnapping case involving one of the victims of her son's sexual assaults. The Court emphasised that Bhavani had already answered 85 questions during the investigation, making it unfair to claim she was not cooperating with the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing sexual abuse cases against Prajwal. The SIT had sought her custody in connection with the kidnapping of a house-help in K R Nagar in Mysuru district, after she failed to attend questioning. Justice Krishna S Dixit, while allowing Bhavani's petition seeking anticipatory bail, urged that media trials be avoided and underlined the importance of not making unnecessary arrests of women, noting their central role in families. The judge also highlighted that the allegations of non-cooperation were unconvincing since Bhavani had already provided extensive responses during her

BJP set to organise protests across Karnataka against fuel price hike

The BJP will stage protests across Karnataka against the hike in petrol and diesel prices on June 17, the party's state unit president B Y Vijayendra said on Sunday. The Karnataka government on Saturday hiked sales tax on fuel which will make petrol and diesel costlier. Petrol prices have gone up by Rs 3 per litre and diesel by Rs 3.5 per litre. "We urge the Chief Minister to withdraw this decision immediately. Tomorrow we have organised protests across the state and we are not going to keep quiet till the hike is revoked," Vijayendra told PTI here in the district headquarters town of Hassan. He said the protests will take place in all the district headquarters of the state. Vijayendra charged that the 'desperate Chief Minister' hiked the petrol and diesel prices since he is unable to start any new programmes due to the five guarantees. "After the Lok Sabha elections, they (Congress government) have increased fuel prices. This will cost all sections of people in the entire state