Lokayukta complaint against CM?over appointment of KSPCB?chief

May 6, 2016

Bengaluru, May 6: A complaint has been filed with the Lokayukta against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the appointment of real estate businessman Lakshmana as the chairperson of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).

siddaT Narasimha Murthy, the complainant, said that the appointment was in violation of the provisions under The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and that it was the chief minister who chose Lakshmana, though it was not recommended by the search committee.

The complaint said that Lakshmana is a civil engineer and has no past experience relating to environment protection.

The process to choose the chairperson for the KSPCB started in August 2015 when Madan Gopal, the then Additional Chief Secretary Forest, Ecology and Environment Department, recommended the constitution of the search committee headed by the then Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee.

Other members of the committee constituted were Prof Ravindranath of IISc and Capt Raja Rao, former member of KSPCB and Madan Gopal (member-secretary). The committee shortlisted five names among those who applied for the post. The names were Prof E T Puttaiah, G T Chandrashekharappa, Dr J R Mudkavi, Dr B S Jai Prakash and Prof B B Hosetti.

“As per the documents, the list finalised by the search committee did not have the name of Lakshmana till December 12, 2015. However, on December 10, Minister for Forests, Ecology and Environment Ramanath Rai inserted the name of Lakshmana stating “done as per the discussion with the chief minister,” the complainant said.

Less than 10 days after inserting Lakshmana's name, the chief minister passed an order recommending the appointment.

Required qualifications

The qualifications and experience prescribed for the post are: Masters degree in science or equivalent B Tech in discipline relating to environment, 10 years experience in government departments, institutions, central public sector undertakings, universities, recognised research institutions, autonomous or semi-government or statutory organisations or NGOs at managerial levels, with practical experience in matters relating to environmental protection.

The complaint said that Lakshmana is a civil engineer with no experience in environmental protection.

Narasimha Murthy submitted the complaint to Upalokayukta Justice N Ananda. The complaint has been filed against Siddaramaiah, Minister Ramanath Rai, Chief Secretary Aravind Jadhav, Madan Gopal and Lakshmana.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 24,2020

Ahmedabad, Feb 24: US President Donald Trump arrived in Ahmedabad on Monday for the first leg of his India trip.

The Air Force One plane carrying Trump and his wife Melania landed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport here at 11.37 am, officials said.

It was scheduled to land at 11.40 am.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reached Ahmedabad over an hour before Trump did, was present at the airport to welcome the US president at the airport.

In Ahmedabad, Trump will visit Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram, take part in a roadshow with Modi and jointly address over one lakh people at a cricket stadium, before heading for Agra to see the iconic Taj Mahal with Melania.

Trump, who is also accompanied by daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and top brass of his administration, will get a taste of India's cultural melange during his high- optics Gujarat itinerary, after the bonhomie between the two leaders at the 'Howdy, Modi!' event in Houston last year.

The US president and Modi will participate in a roadshow from the airport to Sabarmti Ashram and from there to the newly-built Motera cricket stadium, where over a lakh people are expected to be present for the 'Namaste Trump' event.

Dance groups and singers from different parts of the country will be performing on stages that are dotting the 22- km route of the 'India roadshow' in the city.

Huge billboards of the two leaders and replicas of historic places in Gujarat have also been placed along the roads where people will greet the two leaders.

Over 10,000 police personnel, besides officials of the United States Secret Service, and personnel of the National Security Guards (NSG) and the Special Protection Group (SPG) have been deployed for the high profile visit.

The seventh US president to visit India, Trump on Sunday retweeted a video in which his face was superimposed on the hit Indian movie-character Bahubali, showing him as a great saviour.

Modi will accompany Trump to the Sabarmati Ashram, which was home to Mahatma Gandhi from 1917-1930 during India's freedom struggle.

Several world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have visited Sabarmati Ashram in recent years.

Ashram secretary Amrut Modi said Trump will spend 15 minutes at the place.

"Trump will visit the 'Hriday Kunj'. If he wishes, he will spin a charkha (spinning wheel). We will also gift him a coffee-table book, and a book containing 150 quotations of Gandhi," the Ashram official said.

Hriday Kunj is a room on the Ashram premises where Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturba Gandhi had lived for 12 years between 1918 and 1930.

The official said the US President would be briefed about Gandhiji and the importance of charkha as a symbol of self-reliance.

There will be a cultural extravaganza at the Motera stadium during the 'Namaste Trump' event, where Trump and Modi will address the gathering.

Bollywood singer Kailash Kher and some Gujarati folk singers will perform at the stadium, officials of the Gujarat Cricket Association said.

Students of various government and private schools have also been roped in to perform at cultural events and they have been practicing for days, an official said.

Billboards with slogans hailing Indo-US relations and having pictures of Trump and Modi walking together, shaking hands, and waving at the crowd during the 'Howdy Modi' event are dotting the city.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 3,2020

Mangaluru, April 3: A police officer in Sullia town of Dakshina Kannada district got injured on Friday after unidentified youth pelted stones at him.

The incident took place when the cop stopped them from entering into the state from Kerala in the view of nationwide lockdown. He was later administered medical aid.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 14,2020

Mysuru, Feb 14: Two weeks after her engagement with another boy, a 20-year-old girl who was in love with a boy, committed suicide at her residence in Nanjangud on Wednesday.

Meghana's parents have accused her lover Manikanta of Hemmargala of abetting her suicide. The girl's father in his complaint has claimed that Manikanta threatened to send their photos to her fiance following which she took the extreme step. He has also claimed his daughter was molested by Manikanta two years ago.

Manikanta who is on the run has been booked for rape and abetting suicide following the complaint.

Since the girl was from the SC community, cops have also slapped cases under Atrocities (Prevention) Act against Manikanta. Nanjangud sub-division DSP Prabhkar Rao Shinde will investigate the case as charges have been made under provisions of the act.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.