H.K. Patil
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The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved the bifurcation of the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) and creation of a separate municipal corporation for Dharwad city for better governance.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil described Dharwad as a “great centre of culture and learning” and pointed out that at present, Dharwad has a joint municipal corporation with its twin city Hubballi.
The separate municipal corporation is expected to get more funds for the exclusive development of Dharwad city which has many prominent educational institutions, including the University of Agricultural Sciences and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
The Dharwad Separate Corporation Agitation Committee had been demanding the bifurcation of the HDMC and creation of a separate urban local body for Dharwad city.
Several Congress leaders and Ministers such as Mr. Patil and Santosh Lad and MLAs Vinay Kulkarni and N.H. Konaraddi had demanded a separate municipal body for Dharwad.
Increased borrowing
The Cabinet decided to increase the borrowing limit of the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) from ₹500 crore to ₹5,000 crore for utilisation of the loan amount for acquisition of land and payment of compensation. The government has decided to give guarantees for the loan raised by the KIADB.
The KIADB is acquiring 28,741 acres in 24 industrial areas of the State. The land acquisition cost has been estimated at ₹26,505 crore while the cost of development of land would be ₹5,875 crore. The annual cost would be ₹2,000 crore, Mr. Patil said.
The Cabinet also approved the construction of a highly modern bus stand on 14 acres at Bannimantap in Mysuru at the cost of ₹120 crore. The bus-stand complex would have a bus depot, commercial complex, and other facilities. Close to 3,500 buses operate from the present bus stand which is highly congested.
The Cabinet approved the revised plan of ₹209.13 crore for the construction of a fisheries port at Kodi in Hejamadi of Udupi district under the Centrally sponsored scheme. It also decided to spend ₹84.57 crore to modernise fishery ports under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana.
For goshalas
The Cabinet approved a sum of ₹10.5 crore to be utilised for the development of goshalas (cow sheds) in 14 districts and ₹149.75 crore was approved for the construction of an engineering college affiliated to the VTU at Vadaganahalli in Chintamani in Chickballapur district.
It approved the Cadre and Recruitment rules for the Minor Irrigation and Groundwater Development Department.
The Cabinet authorised the Chief Minister to nominate a person for a Legislative Council seat.
Published – January 02, 2025 09:29 pm IST
