K'taka HC asks govt to halt controversial elevated corridor project in Bengaluru

The HC was hearing a petition pertaining to the functioning of the Metropolitan Planning Committee. The next date of hearing is on March 19.

TNM Staff

The controversial elevated corridor project in Bengaluru for which the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited had hurriedly floated tenders, has been halted in its tracks by the Karnataka High Court. A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Narayana Swamy and Justice Dinesh Kumar on Wednesday asked the state government not to proceed further in the matter until a case on the functioning of the Bangalore Metropolitan Committee is disposed of. The next date of hearing has been fixed on March 19. The case pertains to the functioning of the Metropolitan Planning Committee — the constitutionally mandated body for the city’s planning purpose, filed by Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Citizen’s Action Forum. According to the 74th Constitutional Amendment, all town planning activities have to be done by the Metropolitan Planning Committee, of which two-thirds of the members have to be elected corporators. “The High Court today has passed an order which has effectively meant a stay. The HC has said any other large-scale projects including the elevated corridor project and those being undertaken cannot be proceeded further with until this case is disposed of,” Mukunda NS of Citizen Action Forum— one of the petitioners in the case, told TNM.  “Our petition was that the government is not serious in implementing the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) as per the 74th Amendment. The MPC actually should be the body which should be entrusted with development with Bengaluru and since it is not doing it, it needs a direction from the court to establish that all projects can be routed through that body only. The court had given the government time to file their counter day before yesterday but the government advocate did not turn up. That is when the court got angry and gave a direction to the government advocate to file his objection within two weeks,” he added. In the same case, then Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Krishna S Dixit in June 2018 had set aside the possibility of formation of a parallel expert group like that of the Bengaluru Blueprint Action Group (BBAG) for the city’s future planning. "Let the statutory bodies work. Creating parallel body is undesirable, unwarranted and absolutely uncalled for, as such bodies will only add to the confusion," the division bench had said.

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Online petitions go viral as B'luru residents plan to oppose elevated corridor

A Change.org petition opposing the elevated corridor project has received more than 1 lakh signatures and counting.

Prajwal Bhat

Online petitions against the contentious elevated corridor project initiated by the Kumaraswamy-led Karnataka government have garnered massive opposition for the project.   A petition which was filed on Change.org has already been signed by more than 1 lakh people while another online petition posted on Jhatkaa has also registered over 13,000 signatures so far.  The petitions were filed after it emerged that 120 trees in the Cubbon Park area will be cut down to make way for the elevated corridor on Queen's Road. The study conducted by consultants Aecom, Deloitte and Infra Support, accessed by TNM, says that 858 trees in “sensitive wooded stretches” including Cubbon Park and Coles Park, will be cut down for the project. In all, more than 3700 trees are set to be cut down and translocated to build the network of elevated corridors in the city.  Read: Over 3000 trees to be axed, lakes will be impacted by Bengaluru elevated corridor: EIA   However, a section of Resident Welfare Association members met Deputy CM G Parameshwara expressing their support for the project. The residents included people residing in Koramangla, Whitefield, Bellandur, Sarjapur, Cox Town among other areas who pledged their support in favour of an expansion of the road network in the city.  Development and our environment are two sides of the same coin. As our population grows, finding a balance between both is a vital question that our city needs to address today. I urge citizens to not pay heed to rumours. — Dr. G Parameshwara (@DrParameshwara) March 13, 2019 On the other hand, the project has also faced stiff resistance from activists and residents in the city. A massive protest has been planned along the lines of the 2016 steel bridge protest by a group of like-minded civic organisations from across the city at the Gandhi Statue in Maurya Circle on Saturday at 10 am. "The protest against the elevated corridor project is being supported by nearly 35 organisations from across Bengaluru. We stand opposed to the project cutting down more than 3700 trees," says Srinivas Alavilli from Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB). In October 2016, an 8,000-strong human chain protest was held urging the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to shelve the steel flyover project. The protest was successful and the project later dropped.  A group of organisations in the city are aiming to repeat the feat this time around by protesting against the proposed elevated corridor project. The organisations involved includes Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV), CIVIC, Cifos, Bengaluru Environment Trust (BET), Environment Support Group (ESG), ESAF, Praja-Raag, Whitefield Rising, Bellandur Jothege, RR Nagar I Care, Malleswaram Swabhimana Initiative, Cubbon Park Walkers Association, Living Lavelle, Vittal Mallya RWA, Kasturba RWA, D'Souza Layout RWA, The Students' Outpost, Citizens Agenda for Bengaluru, Srishti School of Design, Aikyam Community for Sustainable Living, Malleswaram Social, Bengaluru Suburban Rail Users, Coalition for Water Security, Human Rights Empowerment Council of India (HRECI) among others.   

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NIH, scientists from 7 other countries call for ban on heritable gene edits

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Congress- JD(S) seat sharing finalised: Cong to contest from 20 seats

Lok Sabha 2019

Surprisingly, the Mysuru-Kodagu seat that has a sitting Congress MP has been given to the JD(S).

TNM Staff

After days of speculation, the Congress and the JD(S) on Wednesday made their seat sharing arrangement formal. Congress is set to contest from 20 out of the 28 total seats in the state. The JD(S) will now contest in Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, Karwar, Vijayapura and Shivamogga in addition to the Vokkaliga strong holds of Hassan, Mandya and Bengaluru North.   Interestingly, the Mysuru-Kodagu seat where the JD(S) has a strong grassroot presence has been retained by the Congress while Tumakuru which has a sitting Congress MP has been given to the JD(S).   This also puts to rest the speculation that former Congress MLA and rebel star Ambareesh’s wife actor Sumalatha will contest from Mandya for the Congress party instead of Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the son of CM HD Kumaraswamy.   The seat sharing pact was formalised in a meeting between JD(S) national convenor Danish Ali and Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Kochi. The pre-poll alliance for Lok Sabha elections between the two parties was sealed soon after HD Kumaraswamy was sworn-in as the minister.   Last week, HD Deve Gowda in a meeting with Rahul Gandhi in the latter’s residence in New Delhi had asked for 10 seats for the JD(S). Initially, when the talks had begun, JD(S) had bargained for 12 seats.   The meeting held on March 6 between the top two leaders of the respective parties had ended in a stalemate with the  bone of contention being the Tumkuru and Chikkaballapura seats, both held by the Congress.

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'Sirsi Supari' areca nut from Uttara Kannada district gets GI tag

Horticulture

'Sirsi Supari' areca nuts grown in Sirsi, Yellapur and Siddapura taluks of the district have received the tag.

TNM Staff

Areca nuts grown in Uttara Kannada district have been given a geographical indication (GI) tag. The Registrar of Geographical Indications has decided to grant the GI tag to 'Sirsi Supari' areca nuts grown in Sirsi, Yellapur and Siddapura taluks of the district. An agriculture cooperative, Totagars’ Cooperative Sale Society (TSS) Ltd, based in Sirsi is the registered proprietor of the 'Sirsi Supari'. Speaking to TNM, Ravish Hegde, the cooperative's general manager, says that the GI tag will help customers identify authentic Sirsi-grown areca nuts. "Areca nut is grown in several places and the 'Sirsi Supari' is only around 5% of the areca nuts grown in Karnataka but a GI tag will help protect the identity of the Sirsi areca nut. The Sirsi areca nut has a unique taste and is produced in chali (white) variety and red variety," explains Ravish. Around 4 lakh areca nuts are grown annually over a 40,000 acre area in the three taluks. The areca nuts are sold in Karnataka and transported to places like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and New Delhi. The process of obtaining the tag began in 2013. Scientific research was submitted to prove that the 'Sirsi Supari' is unique. One variety of the areca nut is medium sized, flat rounded and ash coloured. The fruit turns from yellow to scarlet while ripening and consists of a thick fibrous pericarp (husk) which encloses this seed. Ravish further adds that the GI tag will also help find a better price for farmers growing the crop. "We can inform the customer that this is an authentic Sirsi-grown areca nut since several distributors mix areca nuts grown in different areas and sell at different prices. If we get good premium price, this will also help all the farmers growing the crop in these three taluks," he adds. The areca nut is produced in various ways. The 'chali' or white variety is made by peeling nuts after they ripen and then sun drying them. The red areca nut is produced by harvesting the tender nuts, boiling and coloring them before sun drying them.

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Deve Gowda relinquishes Hassan seat, grandson Prajwal Revanna to contest for JD(S)

Politics

Deve Gowda has been the MP from Hassan constituency since 2004.

TNM Staff

Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda announced on Wednesday that he will not contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Hassan constituency. Speaking at a public campaign held in Mudalahippe village in Holenarasipura taluk in the district, Deve Gowda, the incumbent MP, also said that his grandson Prajwal Revanna will be the JD(S) candidate from the constituency taking over from him. “I have decided I will not stand for the elections from here,” Deve Gowda told reporters. He, however, could yet contest for the JD(S) from the Bengaluru (North) constituency or the Mysuru-Kodagu constituency.  Prajwal Revanna is the son of Karnataka PWD Minister HD Revanna. The duo celebrated the news at their residence in Holenarasipura and also embarked on a tour of temples.   Deve Gowda thanked the people of the constituency for standing by Prajwal. HD Revanna and Prajwal appeared to be visibly upset at Deve Gowda’s announcement and television visuals showed that both leaders were in tears during the campaign. Deve Gowda has made the Hassan constituency his bastion over the last three decades. He has been the MP from Hassan constituency since 2004 and has won three elections in a row defeating HC Srikantaiah of the Congress, KH Hanume Gowda of the BJP, and A Manju of the Congress. He had earlier been elected from the constituency in 1991 and 1998 and was defeated in 1999. Deve Gowda further added that the Congress and JD(S) are yet to decide on the seat-sharing arrangement. “Out of the 28 Lok Sabha seats, we have not decided how many Congress will contest and how many JD(S) will contest. A meeting will be held on Friday with Rahul Gandhi in which a final decision will be taken,” he added. JD(S) had earlier asked the Congress for 10 Lok Sabha seats out of the 28 seats in the state as part of the pre-poll alliance struck between the two parties.  Prajwal Revanna and HD Revanna campaigning in Holenarasipura Prajwal could contest the elections against A Manju. The former Congress minister has apparently expressed his displeasure to the party leadership for allowing the JD(S) to field Prajwal from Hassan. BJP sources say it is likely that he will defect to their party, paving the way for him to contest against Prajwal. State BJP President BS Yeddyurappa has also indicated that Manju has met him two or three times and has his approval to contest from Hassan.  Manju was earlier a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led cabinet and is also close to him. However, he is reportedly unhappy that Deve Gowda has picked his grandson over him as the candidate from Hassan.  Meanwhile, the BJP accused Deve Gowda of playing dynasty politics by giving way for his grandson to contest from the Hassan constituency. This comes after Nikhil Kumaraswamy, his other grandson and son of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, was confirmed as the coalition’s candidate from the Mandya constituency. Kumaraswamy’s wife, Anita, is an MLA from Ramanagara Assembly constituency. Reacting to the question of dynasty politics, Prajwal Revanna told reporters that the BJP was looking to field Yeddyurappa’s son BY Raghavendra from Shivamogga. “Tell me who is contesting from Shivamogga from BJP and we will discuss after that,” he retorted.

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Asked to vacate homes overnight, B’luru tenants unite against real estate agency Homigo

Consumer compliants

Tenants are being asked to vacate their homes immediately and the company has claimed that they will be ‘unavailable’ for two months.

Soumya Chatterjee

Many Bengaluru residents who had started living in apartments on a lease or a rental basis via the real estate agency Homigo have suddenly been asked to vacate their homes overnight. This after the company has reportedly gone bankrupt and has not paid the original property owners their due. According to its website, Homigo, founded by IIT-Kanpur alumni Jatin Mitruka, Aaskash Verma and Nikunj Batheja, had offerings from 32 properties across various locations in the city. They worked on a model where they leased properties or apartments and sub-leased it to a customer after furnishing. The company had raised its funding from investors such as Mebelkart and Livespace. While the company is not returning calls from the customers, some of the customers have received an email in which the company has claimed that they will be “unavailable” for two months. In addition to losing their homes, the tenants are also at risk of losing their deposit amount and lease money. Security deposits up to Rs 50,000–  and for some, lease amounts in the tune of lakhs – are with Homigo. Ali Abid, one Homigo customer staying in ‘Homigo Cinzel’ in Sarjapur has been told by the original property owner to leave the premises by 20th of this month. “There are total 11 flats in the building. Four are leased by clients and rest are have been rented out. The company didn't tell us anything. They just vanished. I emailed them about circumstances two-three days ago but they never responded,” he said. Arul, another such customer, told TNM, “There was a lease agreement for three years and we have already paid the amount to Homigo four months ago. Homigo, meanwhile, was paying the landlords on a monthly basis. We have recently come to know that the company has shut down. It seems that all the employees have been sacked and they are not responding to calls. We are worried as in many other Homigo places, the owners have asked the tenants to leave.  Our landlord is currently out of town, and we do not know what will happen to us.” “In February, we had received an email saying that they will be temporarily unavailable for 2-3 months. But how can we trust the email when the company itself is shut down? There has been no reply to the email,” he added. With no response from the company, the customers, around 400 in number, are uniting under the umbrella of ‘Action against Homigo’ and are mulling legal action against the company. City-based lawyer Faizan Mirza Asad said that the tenants can get temporary relief from court over the matter. “Tenants have certain rights which are protected by the law. They can approach the civil court and seek a legal remedy in case of illegal eviction by the landlord/rental company by getting a stay from eviction,” the lawyer said. He added, “The tenants can file a suit for injunction, in an appropriate court to legally impede the landlord from evicting the tenant under State’s Rent Act.” Not just customers, even property owners, furniture suppliers, lift operators and security guards working in these properties are also facing a loss since none of them has been paid. Founders Jatin and Nikunj could not be reached for a comment.

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