Karnataka govt clears Rs 600 crore plan for minority colonies

The Karnataka Cabinet, led by the Congress government, has cleared a Rs 600 crore plan for development works in minority colonies over two years, alongside additional allocations for infrastructure, education, and transport projects.

Bengaluru: The Congress government in Karnataka has approved a Rs 600 crore plan for the next two years to undertake development works in minority colonies.​

Additionally, the government has decided to release an extra Rs 20 crore for the construction of the Belagavi Deputy Commissioner’s office building.​

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Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs H.K. Patil made the announcement after the Cabinet meeting on Thursday evening.​

The move is seen as an attempt to assuage the outrage within the minority community against the Congress, which intensified after the party rejected demands to field a Muslim candidate in the Davanagere South bypoll.​

When asked about this, Minister Patil said, “Do you think an action plan would be prepared suddenly after the Davanagere bypolls?”​

He added that the process has been underway for a long time and has now been taken up, and said these are just allegations.​

When questioned about the government approving a Rs 600 crore action plan that had been pending for two years, Patil said that works that are not completed will naturally be carried forward to the next year, and projects facing a shortage of funds will be provided with the necessary support.​

He further stated that the government has also taken an important decision to promote education among the children of construction workers.​

The Cabinet has approved the distribution of kits worth approximately Rs 8,600 each, containing various study materials and school textbooks, for the children of registered construction workers.​

For this initiative, the government has sanctioned an estimated amount of Rs 115.84 crore.​

Minister Patil said that discussions were held on the Hyderabad–Bengaluru high-speed rail project to strengthen transport connectivity, and that a total of 15 railway stations are proposed to be established in Karnataka under the project.​

Additionally, the Cabinet has approved an annual subsidy of Rs 28.7 crore to promote the operation of air services between Bidar–Bengaluru and Kalaburagi–Bengaluru, he said.​

He further stated that administrative approval has been granted for the GBA Bidadi Township project in the state, with an allocation of Rs 18,133 crore for the large-scale initiative.​

Under the project, around 7,481 acres and 21.08 guntas of land spread across nine villages in Ramanagara taluk of Bengaluru South district will be acquired.​

To provide better financial support to farmers losing their land, the government has decided to allot developed land in return.​

Each acre of acquired land will be compensated with 9,600 square feet of developed land, the minister said.​

Minister Patil, talking about the sensational alleged Soujanya rape and murder case, said that if the Supreme Court seeks information, details will be provided.​

He said that Soujanya’s mother, Kusumavati, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a reinvestigation and that, accordingly, the Supreme Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation and the state government to submit complete details of the case.​

Meanwhile, the Cabinet discussed the final report submitted by the State Education Policy Commission, but no final decision was taken.​

The minister said the government has decided to hold a detailed discussion at the next Cabinet meeting after gathering more information.​