Karnataka govt orders forming Veerashaiva-Lingayat Corporation with Rs 500 cr fund

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has set in motion the process to set up the Karnataka Veerashaiva-Lingayat Corporation (KVLC) with a fund of Rs 500 crore days after Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa announced its formation.

A government order issued on Monday said the KVLC will be set up for the overall development of Veerashaiva Lingayats who are in a sizeable population in the State.

The Corporation will be formed under the Companies Act, 2013 and Rs 500 crore will be earmarked for it.

The order said the Commissioner of Backward Class Welfare Department will look after the corporation till a Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association is prepared and sent to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for registration after getting approval of the State government.

The Backward Class Welfare Department will bear the initial expenses until the corporation comes into being.

The government decided to set up the corporation soon after announcing setting up of the Maratha Development Authority with a fund of Rs 50 crore.

The decision to form the MDA and KVLC is seen as an attempt to woo the Maratha and Veerashaiva-Lingayat communities who are dominant in Basava Kalyan assembly constituency in Bidar district bordering with Maharashtra in northern Karnataka.

The assembly by-poll is due in Basava Kalyan following the demise of the sitting Congress MLA B Narayan Rao due to COVID-19 a couple of months ago.

The decision to form KVLC is also seen as an attempt to douse the outrage over the formation of Maratha Development Authority with many pro-Kannada organisations deciding to observe Bandh on December 5.