Monsoon session of Karnataka legislature from Sept 12

Bengaluru: The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday decided to convene the monsoon session of the state legislature for 10 working days from September 12.

Briefing about the cabinet decisions, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said, the session will be held at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru for two weeks, except on Saturdays and Sundays.

Aimed at shifting the Kalasipalyam market, one of the oldest and famous market places in the city for retail and wholesale traders, the cabinet has given administrative approval for development of vegetable market in 42 acres and 31 guntas (one gunta is 101.1714 square metres) of land being acquired at Gulimangala village, attached to Singena Agrahara fruit market in Bengaluru, the Minister said.

For this purpose, Rs 100 crore has been sanctioned, he said adding Rs 48 crore will be utilised for land acquisition and Rs 52 crore for market development.

There is a need to develop such markets in all the four directions of Bengaluru, based on the land availability, he said, adding that as the land here was acquired earlier, it has been decided to take this up first.

The cabinet has also decided that the ”Raitha Vidya Nidhi” for farmers’ children will be extended to landless agriculture labourers too.

Aimed at promoting education of farmers’ children, the Chief Minister’s Raita Vidya Nidhi scheme was earlier launched by the government for the first time in the country, under which, a scholarship of Rs 439.95 crore to 10.03 lakh children has been distributed.

The scheme was subsequently extended to weavers, fishermen and yellow board taxi drivers’ children too.

As announced in the budget, the cabinet has given administrative approval to start seven universities in seven district centres: Chamarajanagara, Bidar, Haveri, Hassan, Kodagu, Koppal and Bagalkote.

Also, it was decided to send a new proposal to the Centre declaring the area around Gudekote Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary and Kappatagudda wildlife sanctuary, as eco sensitive zones.

”If a policy decision is not taken in this regard, 10 kms around the wildlife sanctuary is assumed as a buffer zone. With the state declaring, it will be confined to one km,” Madhuswamy said.

The cabinet has also given its consent for starting 4,244 new Anganwadi centres under state’s funds.

Among the other decisions taken by the cabinet were administrative approval for the revised estimate of Rs 49.90 crores for Malpe third stage fishing harbour development work in Udupi; to release Rs 73.53 crore by the state government as part of its 15 per cent share towards development work undertaken by Konkan Railways.