Karnataka cabinet clears projects worth ₹3,400 crore, Bengaluru division gets major share

The Karnataka cabinet approved development projects worth ₹3,400 crores, with ₹2,050 crores allocated for Bengaluru division.

The Karnataka cabinet, in a meeting held atop the Nandi Hills here, on Wednesday approved development projects worth ₹3,400 crores, of which ₹2,050 crores were earmarked for districts falling under Bengaluru division alone, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with Deputy CM DK Shivakumar before the commencement of the 14th Cabinet meeting at Nandi Giridham in Chikkaballapur. (@DKShivakumar)

A key decision taken at the meeting was to rename Bangalore City University as Dr Manmohan Singh Bengaluru City University, in honour of the former Prime Minister, as proposed in the Budget. The cabinet meeting was held atop the Nandi Hills here under Bengaluru division, as per the government's decision to hold such meetings in all the four revenue divisions of the state.

"We discussed and took decisions on 90 per cent of the subjects related to the Bengaluru division in this cabinet meeting. Projects or development works worth ₹3,400 crores were approved, and out of this ₹2,050 crores were for Bengaluru division alone," Siddaramaiah told reporters after the meeting.

Subjects related to education, health, drinking water, irrigation, lake filling projects were mainly deliberated and cleared by the cabinet, he added. Deputy CM D K Shivakumar announced the formation of a Cabinet Sub-Committee under the chairmanship of Law Minister H K Patil to review the progress of the probe into illegal mining, recommend further steps to be taken, and submit a report to the government in a month's time.

Referring to Yettinahole project, the CM clarified it is primarily a drinking water project, and filling the lakes is secondary. The cabinet decided to first complete the project to provide drinking water to needy areas of Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, and Hassan districts in two years.

Noting that drinking water will be provided to 75 lakh people in 9 districts under this project, he said, out of 24.1 TMC of water, 14 TMC is required for drinking water. A revised estimate of ₹23,251 crores has been made for the Yettinahole Project, of which ₹17,147 crores have been spent so far, Siddaramaiah further said, while overall about ₹8,000 crore is required for completing the remaining project work, about ₹6,000 crore is remaining after spending.

"The cost has increased due to land acquisition. The cabinet discussed this, and the matter (on providing remaining funds) will be brought before the next cabinet through the Finance department," he added. The cabinet has also given its nod for the establishment of 31 residential schools at an outlay of ₹1125.25 crores for the educational advancement of children of registered workers of the Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.

It has also been decided to upgrade 8 Primary health care (PHC) in new taluks into Community Health Centres (CHCs) at an estimated cost of ₹46 crore, the CM said. Approval has been given to establish a high-tech flower market of international standards at a cost of ₹141.5 crore by APMC in Chikkaballapur. Construction of two hostels in Bangalore at a cost of ₹10 crore to provide training including accommodation for candidates from backward classes for competitive exams like IAS and IPS was approved.