Bangalore Karnataka government today presented the Budget that exceeded Rs 1 lakh crore in value for the first time and announced the acceptance of pay commission recommendations bringing cheer to employees.
It also proposed to levy value added tax (VAT) at five per cent on beedies and plastic woven fabrics and increase VAT on cigarettes and other tobacco products from 15 per cent to 17 per cent.
As per the Economic Survey report released by the Department of Planning, Programme Monitoring and Statistics on Tuesday, poverty is still a major cause for concern for Karnataka.
As in 2009-10, Karnataka has 10.87 million (1.087 crore) poor people (18.5 pc). Andhra Pradesh has recorded 9.3 pc poor, Kerala 8.1 pc and Tamil Nadu 12.9 pc.
Forest resources of Karnataka are under severe pressure with drastic fall in the area of dense forest cover between 2001 and 2007, with a 10 pc decline.
The dense forest cover, which was estimated at about 26,156 sq km (70 pc) in 2001, has declined to 21,958 sq km (60 pc) in 2007. However, open forest cover increased from 10,835 sq km to 14,232 sq km in this period.
The Karnataka government is in talks with Indian and international energy companies to arrange gas for three power plants for which it is planning to seek bids. Currently, it is in talks with GAIL India and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to procure about 26 mmscmd for a total gas capacity of 2,100 Mw.
According to a person close to the development, after the government ties up the gas, it would approach private power producers to bid for these three power plants. Neither HPCL nor GAIL responded to e-mailed queries.
Residents of Rajagopalnagar in Peenya Industrial Area are forced to drink water, from a borewell, with high levels of chromium in the absence of an alternative.
Not potable: A resident of Rajagopalnagar shows water drawn from a public tap in the area that is green in colour, due to chromium contamination. levels of chromium in water causes skin irritation or ulceration in the short-term, while lifetime exposure to levels above the maximum contamination level can damage liver, kidney and nerve tissues.
Samaja Parivarthana Samudaya (SPS), the NGO which brought the large-scale illegal mining in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka out into the open, has approached the Supreme Court seeking directions for scrapping of all mining leases in Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur districts.
SPS also sought a CBI probe into the criminal conspiracy allegedly hatched by officials and people’s representatives for the massive loot of iron ore in the region.
Apprehending severe water crisis in Bangalore in the near future, the Expert Committee constituted to assess long-term additional needs of water for the City, has urged the government to re-look at the controversial reservoir project at Mekedatu that was shelved earlier.
The 10-member committee headed by B N Thyagaraja, retired BWSSB chairman, submitted its report to the government in December 2011, suggesting short-term and long-term measures to tide over the crisis.
Committee submits to apex court reclamation and rehabilitation plans
The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on Wednesday recommended a 10-year prohibition in mining operations in Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur districts, areas under the illegal extraction of natural resources in Karnataka.
The High Court has directed the petitioners to file a report regarding the impact on wildlife, if one of the mini-hydel power projects is allowed to continue at Kenchankumari and Yedakkumari reserve forests of the Western Ghats.
Hearing a petition by Prashanth Yavagal and Western Ghats Environmental Forum, the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna continued the status quo order in connection with establishing the plant by the respondent power company - Maruthi Powergen Private Limited - and directed the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests (MoEF)
Proposes securing additional water within Tribunal’s framework
Drawing additional Cauvery water within the framework of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal award is the short term plan recommended by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s (BWSSB) expert committee, appointed by the government to find solutions to the growing demand for water in the City.
