Trouble for K'taka solar park: Bank asks govt to persuade farmers to clear dues

Solar Park

An official from Vijaya Bank, raised the issue that the Pavagada branch of the bank was financing loans of a large number of farmers in the region.

TNM Staff

The Karnataka government's land-leasing model implemented to develop the solar park in Pavagada taluk of Tumakuru district has come under scrutiny. This after it emerged that the farmers who leased the land for the project had earlier already mortgaged the same land as security for loans. An official from Vijaya Bank, in a letter to the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC), stated that the Pavagada branch of the bank was financing loans of a large number of farmers in the region. "Our Pavagada branch had been financing a large number of farmers in Vallur and Thirumani Gram Panchayats of Pavagada taluk in Tumakuru district for past several years," reads the letter. According to the same official, farmers with loans amounting to more than Rs 16 crore have mortgaged lands in Pavagada as security. "Of the lands taken on lease, 874 farmers having loans amounting to Rs 16.52 crore and 11 farmers having agriculture term loans amounting to Rs 0.44 crore at our Pavagada branch mortgaged their lands to our bank as security for their loans prior to the corporation entering into lease agreements with the farmers," reads the letter. Pavagada, like nine other taluks in Tumakuru, is currently classified as drought-hit by the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA). The state government identified areas in the taluk as the ideal spot for generating solar power but faced resistance from farmers in the region who refused to give up their land.   The state government struck a compromise with farmers in the region to take their lands on lease for 28 years instead of buying it from the farmers. The solar park is being built by leasing land for a price of Rs 21,000 per acre per year. It is touted as one of the biggest solar parks in the world. Read: Towards an uncertain future: Why farmers are unhappy with Karnataka’s big bet on solar After 25 years, the state government will decide whether to renew the existing land lease agreement or dismantle the panels, which will take up to three more years. The state government is now facing questions about its land-leasing agreement, which it wants to implement in other areas of the state for developmental projects.  Venkatesh Pavagada, an activist with the Safai Karamchari Kavalu Samiti from Balasamudra village in Pavagada, reiterated that farmers in the region were forced to take loans from banks due to crop losses suffered after years of drought. "Due to lack of rain in the last decade, almost all farmers here had taken loans from banks. The farmers also refused to give their land to the state government for the construction of the solar park because many feel that without their land, they have nowhere to go. Eventually, the land was leased by the state government for a small price," he says.  Officials at Vijaya Bank also pointed out that the lands were leased by the state government without obtaining 'no objection certificates' from the bank. This has meant that the bank is unable to review/renew these accounts resulting in huge additions of accounts to nonperforming asset (NPA). The officials are now urging the SLBC and the state government, particularly the Karnataka Solar Power Development Corporation Limited (KSPDCL), an entity formed in 2015 that is tasked with developing the park, to discuss this issue in their next meeting. The officials want the corporation developing the park to persuade farmers to clear their dues with the bank. The SLBC has recommended the same to the government.  Officials of the KSPDCL further said that banks should bring issues like this to their notice. “Initially, we did get such complaints and we asked those farmers to clear the dues first. The bank should bring this to our notice for us to act. And we are not purchasing land for us to obtain NOC from the bank,” KSPDCL chief executive officer G Bhimsha said speaking to Deccan Herald.

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BMTC woman conductor attempts suicide due to alleged harassment by depot manager

Harassment

A protest broke out following the incident which led to the cancellation of more than 80 trips.

TNM Staff

An attempted suicide by a female colleague triggered protests by more than 100 Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) drivers and conductors working out of the Sumanahalli Depot on Thursday afternoon. According to the woman’s colleagues, alleged harassment by the depot manager and other senior staff was the reason that drove her to taking the extreme step.    The 33-year-old conductor had attempted suicide by consuming poison inside the depot premises and is currently undergoing treatment at a depot hospital, where her condition is reported to be stable.  Reports suggest that she was working with the BMTC for the last 14 years and was posted in the same depot for the last six years. For the last six years, she had been doing the 6am-1pm shift but on Thursday, she was reportedly told by the Depot Manager, Prashanth to be on a 12-hour shift from 8am-8pm as she was purportedly not bringing enough revenue. “Jyothi had come to work for the first shift even on Thursday but the manager did not assign her duty and asked her to report for the general shift. Jyothi told him that she had a three-year-old child and requested him not to change her shift timings. However, the manager did not pay heed. After waiting for a few hours, Jyothi consumed poison in the depot around 1.30pm. The depot staff rushed her to a nearby hospital. Other drivers and conductors boycotted work and staged a protest demanding suspension of the manager,” a conductor told The New Indian Express. Protesters alleged that the depot manager was harassing other employees as well for not bringing enough revenue. They accused the depot manager of not granting leaves and also of tweaking the shift timings of employees. The protests led to the cancellation of around 80 trips, reports said. The protests were called off only at 9pm after senior BMTC staff came to the station and assured swift action.  

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K’taka cabinet clears formation of 12 more taluks, including two in Kodagu

Administration

The state government and Survey of India will conduct a re-surveying exercise of land and properties in the state.

TNM Staff

  The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday cleared the proposal of carving out 12 new taluks in 10 districts including Kodagu, as proposed by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy in his budget speech. The new taluks were formed on grounds of better and effective administration and some of the new taluk formations were proposed by the Siddaramaiah government. The 12 taluks include two new taluks in the hilly tourist district of Kodagu. The two new taluks carved out will be Kaveri from Kushalnagar taluk and Ponnampet taluk in the south. TIll now, Kodagu was divided into Madikeri, Somwarpet and Virajpet taluks. And people for long had been demanding for these new taluks in addition to another in Napoklu, which was not accorded by the state government. According to The New Indian Express, the revenue department has been authorised to open its offices for the new taluks while rest of the departments will open their taluk level offices in the newly formed district after approval from the Finance Department.   . Harohalli in Ramanagara  . Cheluru in Chikkaballapur . Teradala in Bagalkot . Kalasa in Chikkamagaluru . Ponnampet and Kushalnagar in Kodagu . Alamela in Vijayapura . Mulki and Ullal in DK . Saligrama in Mysuru Shantigrama in Hassan . Yaragatti in Belagavi   Speaking on this, Revenue Minister RV Deshpande said the state government will resurvey lands and properties in the state using advanced technologies including drones, along with the Survey of India.  The first phase of the re-surveying process will cover five districts— Tumakuru, Hassan, Uttara Kannada, Belagavi, Ramanagara as well as Bengaluru city and will take two years. The surveying process will cost Rs 110 crore to be borne by the central government while Rs 15 crore will be spent by the state government to survey the capital city of Bengaluru.    

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After protests, vehicles registered in Dakshina Kannada exempted from toll at Surathkal

Controversy

After a new contractor took Surathkal toll gate, he announced that vehicles registered in Dakshina Kannada won't be exempted from toll fee from March 1.

Soumya Chatterjee

In November 2018, a new company took over toll collection at the Surathkal booth on National Highway 66. The new contractor announced that from March 1, they will not follow the old rule of exempting vehicles with registrations beginning with ‘KA 19’ from toll fees. Consequent protests by residents of Mangaluru and surrounding areas for the last four months have now finally born fruit. The Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil on Thursday agreed to the protesters’ demands and held talks with officials of the National Highway Authority of India to that effect. ‘KA 19' registration number denotes the vehicles are registered in the Dakshina Kannada district itself. The protestors, especially those who commuting daily between Mangaluru and Padubidri in Udupi district said it would be unfair for them to pay Rs 75 at the toll booth in Surathkal and Rs 50 at the toll booth in Hejamady, which is 11.2 km south of Surathkal. They also pointed out that according to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) rules the distance between two adjacent toll booths should be at least 60 km. “We were demanding a status quo and today the Deputy Commissioner said he has already spoken with the relevant authorities. We also saw the National Highway Authority of India officials coming to his office,” Yathish Baikampady, a Mangaluru resident and a leader of the fishermen community, who led the earlier protests, told TNM. He added that on Thursday, the protestors were spread out in three places simultaneously — one held a meeting with the DC, while the other two were in the NHAI office and the toll gate on the highway respectively, since 10 am. Sensing the popular sentiment, Mangaluru North MLA Bharath Shetty of the BJP even threatened violence against the private contractor opposing the exemption. In a press release on Wednesday, Shetty said, “If toll is collected from smaller vehicles, I will not hesitate to damage the plaza. The plazas are at various locations on NH 66. There are no alternative roads for locals. The authorities have not completed the service road as well.” “Earlier, vehicles were exempted from paying the toll, with an understanding between the district administration and the NHAI. The unilateral decision to collect toll cannot be accepted. The contractor collecting toll will be held responsible if any untoward incident takes place after the start of toll collection from all local vehicles from March 1,” he added.       

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House Democratic leaders seek to change the subject on ‘Medicare for All’

But progressives are amping up the pressure for hearings as they push to enshrine single-payer health care in the 2020 agenda.

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Bengaluru to get museums on Indian Constitution, Ramayana, K’taka tribes

Museums

The museums will come up in an eight-acre plot in Nagadasanahalli near Yelahanka at the cost of Rs 120 crore and Rs 60 crore respectively.

TNM Staff

An interactive museum will be built in Bengaluru dedicated to the Indian Constitution and the history behind India’s struggle for independence. This will be one of two museums that will come up in an eight-acre plot in Nagadasanahalli near Yelahanka at the cost of Rs 120 crore, the Karnataka government said on Thursday. The museum will function as a centre for interpretation and showcase the objective, structure, and the challenges faced by Dr BR Ambedkar and other architects of the Constitution. The museum will also chronicle the time leading up to the time of framing the Constitution from the days of freedom struggle. Minister for Social Welfare Priyank Kharge who is spearheading the project, said, “The Constitution of India, for the first time in the world, envisioned a truly equal, just society and guaranteed every citizen of India, irrespective of their caste, class, religious beliefs, language, and economic status equality in law. The Constitution celebrated the diversity and difference of the Indian society and erased all hierarchies. It is the basis of our modern nation. In the current scenario, this cannot be stressed enough. Hence the museum.” It will also have a well-equipped and modern library with a compilation of the Constituent Assembly debates and their Kannada translations along with a vast collection of books and recordings of the Dr Ambedkar’s speeches, Kharge said. The second museum coming up in the same location will be dedicated to Maharishi Valmiki and his epic, the Ramayana, and will be built at the cost of Rs 60 crore. It will also have sections documenting the life, traditions, art and culture of the various tribes in Karnataka is also on the cards. It will also inform visitors about freedom fighters from Halagali Beda community including Jadaga and Veera Sindhura Lakshmana. Karnataka Deputy CM G Parameshwara said, “It is our duty, as citizens and as participants in the nation's progress, to take a full and active part in how the country is governed. It is our duty to understand and honour the Constitution of India and learn the struggles that went into making it. This museum will give every citizen a unique insight into it. At the same time, the Maharishi Valmiki museum will help us appreciate the literary and spiritual heritage of our land.”  

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Karnataka couple arrested for allegedly torturing 3-year-old son to death

Crime

In a complaint, the boy’s grandfather alleged that he witnessed the boy’s mother burn the 3-year-old with a cigarette until he passed out.

Theja Ram

The police in Karnataka’s Kolar district have arrested the parents of a three-year-old boy on charges of torturing him to death. Three-year-old Pritvi was rushed to the Kolar District Hospital in the wee hours of Tuesday with severe injuries and cigarette burn marks on his body. Pritvi, who was lodged in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital, succumbed to his injuries later in the day. The boy’s grandfather BM Nanjundaiah filed a complaint with the Malur Police Station alleging that he witnessed Pritvi’s mother Renuka snatch the cigarette from his (Nanjundaiah’s) son Harish and burn the boy with it until he passed out. According to Nanjundaiah’s complaint, his grandson was prone to throwing tantrums and was a mischievous child. “My son Harish fell in love with Renuka and they got married four years ago. They live in the apartment above mine and had a son Pritvi. From time to time, my son Harish would tell me that he was fed up of dealing with Pritvi’s tantrums. In those times, I would tell him to consult a doctor and may be figure out if there was a problem that we didn’t know about,” Nanjundaiah’s complaint states. Nanjundaiah stated that neither Harish nor Renuka consulted a doctor. He also stated that on Monday, February 25, Renuka and Harish had taken Pritvi to a faith healer in Malur. “Pritvi once again began shaking his head and crying and screaming. It looked like he wanted to convey something but we could not understand. Later, Harish and Renuka took him to a healer, who said some prayers for him. This was at around 7 pm on Monday,” Nanjundaiah’s complaint adds. Renuka, Harish and Pritvi came home and at around 11 pm, Pritvi allegedly began shaking his head and crying loudly. Renuka was allegedly beating Pritvi and demanding that he stay quiet. When Nanjundaiah heard the noise, he went upstairs to find out why his grandson was crying. “When I went there, I saw Renuka had snatched the cigarette from Harish and was burning my grandson’s body all over using it. By the time I managed to stop her, Pritvi had become unconscious,” Nanjundaiah’s complaint states. At around 12.15 am on Tuesday, Pritvi was admitted to the hospital. The Malur Police say that the little boy had injuries on his head and genitals, with cigarette burns on several parts of his body. Pritvi did not respond to the treatment and died. The Malur Police have arrested Renuka and Harish and booked them under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC.

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