Bengaluru News Highlights: CM Siddaramaiah promises “strict action” amid ruckus in Karnataka Assembly over Valmiki scam

The Karnataka Lokayukta conducted raids at several locations linked to 13 state government officials across five districts in the state on Friday in connection with the disproportionate assets cases against them.

During the searches, the sleuths unearthed ill-gotten wealth to the tune of Rs 50 crore.

Legal Metrology Deputy Controller Athar Ali had the highest disproportionate assets among those raided.

He has allegedly amassed wealth worth Rs 8.63 crore, according to the Lokayukta.

He owned four plots, three houses valued at Rs 5.82 crore, cash amounting to Rs 25.19 lakh, ornaments worth Rs 2.08 crore, vehicles worth Rs 11 lakh and household articles estimated at Rs 37.45 lakh.

In the last five years, Karnataka has recorded cybercrimes, particularly linked to fake loans and job frauds, worth about Rs 592 crore, Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara said in the legislative council on Thursday. He was replying to questions posed by Member of Legislative Council Umashree over the growing number of cybercrime cases in the state.

According to the data shared by the Home Minister, 8,231 cases of online job fraud amounting to Rs 565 crore and 1,322 cases of fake loan apps amounting to Rs 25 crore have been reported in Karnataka in the last five years. Out of these cases, only about 11 per cent and 12 per cent of the defrauded amount, respectively, has been recovered.

Meanwhile, only 207 people have been arrested for online job frauds and in fake loan app cases in the last five years, the data revealed

The Karnataka government Friday tabled three bills in the legislative assembly including the Karnataka Legislature (Prevention of Disqualification) (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024.

The Prevention of Disqualification Amendment Bill has been introduced to exempt the office of the political secretary as well as the Chief Minister, Office of the Financial Advisor to the CM, Office of the Advisor (Policy and Planning) to the CM and Deputy Chairperson to Karnataka State Policy and Planning Commission from incurring disqualification for being a member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly or the Member of the Karnataka Legislative Council on such appointment.

The Karnataka Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill aims to create a clear distinction between the input service distribution transactions requiring the transfer of input tax credit related to the invoices for receipt of services on behalf of distinct persons, and the actual supply of services from one distinct person to another, and make it compulsory to distribute the credit. The bill is meant to enable the levy of penalties for non-registration of machines used in the manufacture of tobacco products and paan masala.

The objective of the Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) Bill is to constitute a welfare board and establish a fund for financial schemes to provide social security and welfare of cine and cultural activists in the state. (PTI)

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said former minister B Nagendra, who is in ED's custody in connection with the ST Corporation scam, is being pressurised to name some people.

Nagendra resigned as Tribal Welfare Minister after the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation, Accounts Superintendent Chandrasekharan P died by suicide on May 26.

The officer said in his suicide note that there was an embezzlement of Rs 187 crore, including the illegal transfer of Rs 88 crore money.

Based on a complaint by the Union Bank of India from where the money was illegally transferred to 217 bank accounts in Hyderabad, the CBI launched an investigation and the Enforcement Directorate also joined.

The Karnataka government was taking all necessary measures towards rescue and relief of those affected by flooding and landslides caused by heavy downpours in parts of the state, where monsoon rains since June have been 22 per cent above normal, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said on Friday.

The Minister was replying to a discussion in the Legislative Assembly on floods and landslides in parts of the state due to rains, amid BJP and JD(S) protest from the well of the House against alleged financial irregularities in a state-run corporation.

"The government will take all necessary measures. We had information since January about above normal rains this year and accordingly we have made the necessary arrangements. Since June 1 so far normally 365 mm rains should have happened, but 447 mm rains have occurred which is 22 per cent above normal," Gowda said.

Amid a spike in dengue cases in Karnataka, the Health Department today appointed nodal officers in all government hospitals across Bengaluru for effective management of the vector-borne disease.

A toll free helpline number -- 1800-425-8330 --- was set up for people to seek information or register complaints regarding dengue related issues, officials said.

These dedicated nodal officers will ensure better patient care, quicker response times, and effective management of dengue cases.

Earlier this week, dengue cases in the state crossed the 10,000 mark so far this year, taking the cumulative positive cases to 11,451 from January 1 to July 18.

The vector-borne disease has claimed the lives of eight people in the state this year.

There will be a power supply cut on July 20 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm in the central Bengaluru areas including Residency Road, Hondai RMU, Lavelle Road, Walton Road, Vittal Mallya Road, Church Street, Kasturba Road, M.G.Road, St.Marks Road, Residency Road Cross, Queens Circle, and ITC Hotel.

This interruption is due to ongoing maintenance work at 'Sir M.V 220/66/11Kv GIS EDC station.'

Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad visited a fever clinic in Ramaswamy Palya. They instructed the clinic staff to take precautionary measures to prevent the spread of dengue in the city.

A global outage with the Navitaire Departure Control System (DCS) Friday has been affecting the operations of some airlines across their network, including Bengaluru Airport since 10:40 am, a Bengaluru International Airport Limited spokesperson said.

Indigo, Akasa, and SpiceJet in Terminal 1, and Air India Express in Terminal 2, are among the affected airlines. The Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) and Common Use Self Service (CUSS) systems are also experiencing disruptions.

In response to this situation, Indigo, Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa have taken proactive measures by initiating manual check-ins to ensure minimal disruption to passengers and flight schedules, the airport authority said.

A major disruption in Microsoft Corp.’s cloud services caused service disruptions to a number of businesses around the world, including in India, on Friday. A number of airlines, including Indigo, Akasa Air, Air India Express and Spicejet have said that they were all facing technical glitches impacting services like booking tickets and web check-in.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is also the state finance minister, has stated that the fund transfers from the ST Development Corporation occurred without his knowledge.

“All fund releases from the treasury will not come to my notice. It is the authorities who carry out the release of funds. It does not come to my notice and I do not sign on it. The probe is still underway,” Siddaramaiah said last week following BJP claims that the moral responsibility for the scam vests with the finance minister.

“Will Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman resign for all bank frauds that occur in her tenure by taking moral responsibility? This has happened at the level of the bank. All finance ministers would have to resign over bank frauds (according to BJP demands),” he said.

A team of ministers in the Congress government in Karnataka accused the BJP government at the Centre of attempting to frame Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a money laundering case in which former Congress tribal welfare minister B Nagendra was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on July 12.

The team of ministers accused the Centre of weaponizing the ED, Income Tax, and the CBI to destabilise Opposition governments around the country.

The five ministers who are all considered to be close to CM Siddaramaiah said a conspiracy on the lines of the arrest of the Jharkhand and Delhi CMs using Central agencies was underway in Karnataka in the money laundering probe at the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited. Read More

The Karnataka High Court has struck down a Lokayukta decision that found an engineer with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike guilty of inaction against the encroachment of public property, citing flaws in its inquiry report, among other issues.

The Lokayukta had recommended initiating proceedings against K B Narasimhamurthy, who was posted as an assistant engineer in the Binnypet subdivision from April 20 to September 22 in 2006, and five others after one Shankar filed a complaint against the BBMP for not taking action against the encroacher.

An inquiry report was submitted in 2017 stating that the charges were proved and the accused had failed to take care to prevent the unauthorised construction. A penalty of withholding three salary increments without cumulative effect was then imposed on Narasimhamurthy. Read More

Under the influence of a low-pressure area over central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal, isolated extremely heavy rainfall is very likely over coastal and south interior Karnataka for the next three days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The IMD has issued a red alert for July 19 and 20 in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada and south interior Karnataka.

The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSDNMC) has observed that with the rainfall continuing in the same intensity Cauvery reservoir will likely reach its full capacity in three days. Harangi and Kabini reservoirs have already reached full capacity. (PTI)

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said his government has decided to withhold the bill mandating job reservation for Kannadigas in the private sector due to “certain confusion.”

He said the bill will be taken up for discussion in the next cabinet meeting to clear the doubts.

“On Monday, complete discussion (on the topic) could not take place in the cabinet meeting. By then reports had appeared in the media,” he told the Karnataka assembly.

Replying to Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka’s demand to clarify the state government’s stand on the bill, the chief minister said, “There was some confusion. We will clear those confusions in the next cabinet meeting. Let’s have a detailed discussion.”

BJP leader R Ashoka said, “Finally, you announced putting the bill on hold. There appears to be a Tughlaq government in Karnataka."

The CM replied there is no "Tughlaq government, but Siddramaiah government." He said, "We will take up the bill in the next cabinet meeting.”

Opposition BJP and JD(S) in Karnataka on Thursday staged a walkout from the Legislative Assembly in protest against the absence of Ministers in the House, which also saw Speaker U T Khader admonishing the ruling side stating that their behaviour is bringing a bad name to the government.

As the House met for the day, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka and several senior BJP legislators pointed at the empty front rows of treasury benches, questioned the government, and asked Speaker U T Khader to take note of it.

When the ruling side chief whip Ashok Pattan noted that a few Ministers were in the Legislative Council and asked the Chair to continue with the proceedings as three Ministers were present in the House, opposition leaders demanded that the Speaker call out the names of the Ministers who are supposed to be present in the Assembly today. They also questioned why proceedings did not start at the scheduled time.

Two days after an elderly farmer wearing a dhoti was denied entry to the GT World Mall in Bengaluru, the civic body on Thursday sealed the mall over property tax dues totaling Rs 1.78 crore.

A civic officer said the mall located on the Magadi Main Road failed to pay property tax dues for the financial year 2023-24, even after a notice was issued to it by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

The incident was also discussed in the ongoing monsoon session of the Karnataka legislature. Athani MLA Laxman Savadi criticized the incident and said the government should cut the power supply of the mall to teach the mall authorities a lesson. “If the mall owner allows only ‘suit-boot’ people, let him open a mall in the US…” he said. Read More

Karnataka BJP leaders staged protests against the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government Thursday in Freedom Park, demanding the chief minister’s resignation over the alleged Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd. (KMVSTDC) scam.

The opposition BJP leaders, including the party’s state unit President B Y Vijayendra, were detained as they tried to lay siege to Vidhana Soudha. 

To ensure effective management of moderate and severe cases of dengue, the Health Department on Wednesday issued an order directing key government hospitals in Bengaluru to reserve a specific number of beds for patients suffering from the vector-borne disease.

An official order released by the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare Service stated that in view of the increased dengue cases in the state as well as in Bengaluru city, the effective management of moderate and severe cases is crucial to prevent dengue deaths.

According to the order, KC General Hospital, CV Raman Hospital, and GH Jayanagara have been asked to reserve 25 beds each while taluk hospitals in Yelahanka and KR Puram have been asked to reserve 10 beds each.

The Karnataka government on Wednesday put the reservation bill for Kannadigas in private firms on hold amid fierce criticism from business leaders and tech tycoons.

The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024 was cleared by the state Cabinet on Monday and was expected to be tabled in the assembly on Thursday.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also posted on X: "The bill intended to implement reservation for Kannadigas in private sector institutions, industries, and enterprises is still in the preparation stage. A final decision will be taken after comprehensive discussion in the next cabinet meeting."

River Cauvery at Kollegal in Chamrajnagar district is flowing above the warning level, currently at 626.06 m and rising, which is 0.06 m above the warning threshold of 626 m.

The Karnataka High Court has declined to interfere in the expunction of 50 out-of-syllabus questions in the Karnataka Common Entrance Test 2024 while disposing of a student’s petition that sought directions to consider all 180 questions while conducting counseling for engineering seats.

The student argued that if he were aware that the out-of-syllabus questions would be later expunged, he would have answered more of the other questions rather than wasting his time on them and that expunging the questions prejudiced students who had answered them.

A bench of Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav told the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) and the state government to avoid such situations in the future.

The much-awaited double-decker Rail cum Road flyover connecting Ragigudda junction and Central Silk Board junction was inaugurated by DCM DK Shivakumar on Wednesday. The crucial Central Silk Board junction intersecting both the Outer Ring Road and Hosur Road has long been a notorious bottleneck due to heavy vehicular traffic.

The flyover, costing Rs. 449 crores, stretches 5.12 km from Ragigudda to Central Silk Board and includes various loops and ramps designed to facilitate smooth traffic flow.

The double-decker flyover consists of a metro line on the upper deck while allowing vehicular traffic on the lower deck. The metro project is part of the Reach 5 Line under the Phase-2 Project.

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) on Wednesday expressed disappointment and concern over Karnataka's new bill mandating reservation for locals in private sector jobs.

The Karnataka State Employment of Local Industries Factories Establishment Act Bill, 2024 states that private firms should recruit Kannadigas in Group C and D category posts.

Also, it requires private firms to give priority to local candidates for the jobs.

In a statement, the tech body said, "Nasscom and its members are disappointed and express deep concern regarding the passage of the Karnataka State Employment of Local Industries Factories Establishment Act Bill, 2024."

NASSCOM is an Indian non-governmental trade association and advocacy group that primarily serves the Indian technology industry.

Amid criticism from industry leaders, Labour Minister Santosh Lad said the government is trying to introduce a law to give preference to locally available skills. “At the management (level), it has been decided to provide reservations to 50% of the people. At the non-management level, it has been decided to provide work to 70%. If a particular skill is not available, people can be outsourced and they can be given work here. But the Government is trying to bring in a law to give preference to locally available skills,” he told news agency ANI.

Gram Unnati has partnered with Coco-Cola India to launch a project for enhancing mango yields in Karnataka and improving farmers' income.

Gram Unnati said 'Project Mango Unnati' aims to revolutionise sustainable mango cultivation initiatives, focusing on the Alphonso and Totapuri varieties in Karnataka.

For this project, they will closely collaborate with state horticulture agencies such as Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), the Mango Board, the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), and various horticulture departments across different districts, as per a statement. (PTI)