Arkavathy case: 'Clean chit' for Siddaramaiah

Agencies
August 24, 2017

Bengaluru, Aug 24: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has got a ‘clean chit’ from the Justice H S Kempanna Commission, which inquired into charges of illegal denotification of parcels of land acquired for BDA’s Arkavathy Layout, by successive governments.

Three years after the state government constituted the Commission in 2014, Justice Kempanna submitted a eport to Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Khuntia on Wednesday. According to official sources, the Commission has not indicted anyone for the illegalities in denotifying Arkavathy Layout land.

The report only presents the facts of the case, apparently due to ‘weak’ terms of reference. It has attributed some irregularities to lapses on the part of Land Acquisition Officers of BDA and Urban Development Department.

It all began in August 2014 with the Opposition BJP accusing Siddaramaiah of denotifying large tracts (541 acres) of land for monetary benefit in Arkavathy Layout. The BJP?demanded a CBI?probe.

Siddaramaiah, in turn, accused chief ministers of successive governments from 2004, including three from the BJP, of denotifying the land. Siddaramaiah claimed that his government had only issued “remodification orders”?as per the six parameters laid down by the Karnataka High Court.

Refusing to involve the CBI, Siddaramaiah announced a judicial probe by the retired judge. Several complaints pertaining to denotification of land in the layout has been filed before the Commission.

In govt court

Speaking after submitting the report, Justice Kempanna said, “I have completed my task after studying all aspects of the complaints received relating to irregularities in development of the Arkavathy Layout. Now it is up to the government to decide the future course of action.”

The Commission probed whether orders of courts were violated during the denotification of 983 acres of land since February 2004. The panel got several extensions due to delay in furnishing documents by the BDA.

Terms of reference

* To identify whether denotification in the layout was done in accordance with Karnataka High Court guidelines

* To record facts on whether the denotification was done to ‘favour’ anyone

* To look into denotification of land after final notification of Arkavathy Layout between February 2004 and June 2014.

* Commission probed whether orders of courts were violated during the denotification of 983 acres of land since February 2004.

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coastaldigest.com news network
January 15,2020

Bantwal, Jan 15: Two people died in a head-on collision between two two-wheelers at Mani-Mysuru Highway in Bantwal last night, police said on Wednesday.

Police said that Parikshit (19) and Padmanabha Gowda (28) were heading towards Mane while Mohammed Ajmal (19) on his activa was on his way towards Kodaje when they collided head-on.

All the victims were immediately rushed to hospital for treatment where two of them breathed its last after not responding to the treatment.

Parikshit and Ajmal lost their lives while Gowda suffered critical injuries, the police said.

In another road accident reported from Kodangayi near Radukatte in Vittla, seven people including women and children sustained injuries when a Maruti Omni and another vehicle collided here on Tuesday evening.

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News Network
May 28,2020

Bengaluru, May 28: A thousand government schools in Karnataka are set to get Englishmedium sections from this academic year (2020-21). These institutions will function in both English and Kannada medium.

The decision was taken by primary and secondary education minister S Suresh Kumar and officials of the education department at a meeting on Wednesday.

Suresh Kumar said dualmedium will help improve the standard of schools and enable their development. The poorest of the poor spend almost 40% of their income on their children’s education in private schools. With the introduction of dual-medium, the government hopes such families will be able to save their earnings, he said. These schools will impart lessons in both English and Kannada. They will also provide textbooks in both languages.

‘Kannada must for all’

The meeting reviewed implementation of the compulsory Kannada Language Learning Act, 2015. Officials from the Kannada Development Authority were present at the meeting who claimed that some private schools have failed to implement the Act properly.

“Action will be taken against such institutions. Every child studying in schools across the state must learn Kannada,” Kumar said at the meeting.

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News Network
June 24,2020

Mangaluru, June 24: Congress leader Ivan D’Souza has vowed to serve the poor and practice as a lawyer in the city, as he completed six years of tenure as a member of Karnataka legislative council on June 23. 

Expressing satisfaction about his work as an MLC, he said: “I’m one among the three MLCs who have 100% attendance in the council. Meanwhile, I’m the only council member to utilise the privilege of raising five questions in each session. I brought several major issues to the government through the questions and succeeded in finding solutions to the problems of people.”

“During my six years of tenure as a council member, I could bring sanctions to the tune of Rs 46 crore through various departments. Meanwhile, financial aid to the tune of Rs 13.24 crore has been distributed through Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to nearly 1,600 beneficiaries. I will continue to serve the poor on my own as an individual. For this, I have set up an office in the premises of my house,” Ivan said, adding that he has distributed grocery kits and other essential items to over 18,000 families during the lockdown period.

“I have successfully fulfilled my duties as the chief whip of the government in the council and also as the parliamentary secretary to revenue department in Siddaramaiah and H D Kumaraswamy governments, respectively,” he said. 

Ivan said his office in the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) building will be handed over to JD(S) MLC S L Boje Gowda. “My doors are always open for the people. I will strive to build the party in the state,” he added. 

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