No member from south India in 15th Finance Commission: Karnataka Minister Byre Gowda

Finance

Karnataka Minister Krishna Byre Gowda accused the Centre of injustice done to the state in central allocations, and appealed to the 15th Finance Commission to make fair recommendations.

TNM Staff

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On Wednesday, Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Krishna Byre Gowda expressed his displeasure over the 15th Finance Commission not having a single member from south India.  "It’s unfortunate that Central Government could not find one capable person from South India to serve in the 5 member 15th Finance Commission. In past many members from the South have done illustrious service to the nation," Krishna Byre Gowda tweeted. It’s unfortunate that Central Government could not find one capable person from South India to serve in the 5 member 15th Finance Commission. In past many members from the South have done illustrious service to the Nation. (1/4) — Krishna Byre Gowda (@krishnabgowda) June 26, 2019 The members led by Chairman NK Singh are AN Jha, Dr Ashok Lahiri, Dr Anoop Singh, Prof Ramesh Chand. AN Jha had in March replaced Shaktikanta Das, who had resigned as member of the Commission after he was appointed as RBI Governor. The Commission has been tasked with determining how the tax revenue collected by the Centre is distributed among the states for the period of five years, beginning on April 1, 2020. The 14th Finance Commission was led by former RBI Governor YV Reddy. The other members included M Govinda Rao, Sushma Nath, Abhijit Sen, Sudipto Mundle and AN Jha. In a series of tweets, Krishna Byre Gowda also reiterated Karnataka's long-standing demand for drought relief and pointed out that injustice has been meted out to the state. "Injustice was done to Karnataka in Central allocations during 2015-20. For eg. to meet the needs of drought and floods, Karnataka got Rs 1527 crore under SDRF (State Drought Relief Fund) for the period of 2015-20, whereas Maharashtra got Rs 8195 crore," he said. (2/4) Injustice was done to Karnataka in Central allocations during 2015-20. For eg. to meet the needs of drought and floods, Karnataka got ₹. 1527 Cr under SDRF for the period of 2015-20, whereas Maharashtra got ₹ 8195 Cr. — Krishna Byre Gowda (@krishnabgowda) June 26, 2019 The Minister said that the Karnataka government has appealed to the 15th Finance Commission to "correct these injustices" and "make fair recommendations".  "I hope this failure of the Central Government will be overcome by the members of current Commission and do justice to the better performing states of the South. Instead of penalising, we hope they will reward performance and efficiency," he added.  On Tuesday, the members of the 15th Finance Commission met with Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and several bureaucrats. The Commission claimed that it would not change the Terms of Reference (ToR) but would consider the concerns of the southern states. Byre Gowda's statement comes after the Commission's stand to refuse to change the Terms of Reference despite stiff opposition from the South Indian states.  The 15th finance commission was constituted in November 2017. Last year, several regional parties from the south including state governments like Karnataka, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh, voiced their objections to the 15th Finance Commission’s Terms of Reference, which uses the 2011 Census data instead of 1971 to allocate funds to the state. They argued that setting 2011 Census as the baseline would penalise states that managed to control their population, while rewarding those states that have failed to do so. In April 2018, Finance Ministers of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Puducherry met in Thiruvananthapuram to deliberate the Terms of Reference of the 15th Finance Commission. This set off a series of dialogue between Finance Ministers of several southern states demanding that the Terms of Reference be changed, stating it contradicted the principles of federalism.  Krishna Byre Gowda, who was the Agriculture Minister in 2018, represented Karnataka at the meeting. He had maintained that the Terms of Reference incentivises those states that will reach the replacement fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman. But progressive states like Karnataka, that have worked hard to control their replacement fertility rate, bringing it down to less than 2.1 will lose out.   “Under the incentives clause, states which will reach the replacement fertility level of 2.1 will also get incentives. Meaning those states which have reached or crossed below 2.1 will not get incentives. Which means all the progressive states which did their nationalistic duty, called for by successive governments of India to bring the population down, which did bring it down over 30 years, will not only lose out on the first count of shifting the basis from 1971 to 2011 Census, but will also not be eligible to get the incentives which are laid out in the ToRs for 2.1. There is a double whammy delivered to progressive states in the issue of population,” Byre Gowda had said. The Centre had last year justified the use of 2011 Census as the baseline stating there was merit in using more recent population data. 

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5-year-old boy killed after being attacked by stray dogs near Bengaluru

Accident

Durgesh died due to excessive building. Police have registered a case based on the parents’ complaint.

TNM Staff

In yet another incident which highlights the laxity of authorities in implementing animal birth control measures, a 5-year-old boy died after being attacked by a pack of stray dogs on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The incident occurred on Tuesday at Bajjegowdanapalya in Soladevanahalli. The area comes under Nelamangala Town Municipality in Bengaluru Rural District. According to reports, Durgesh was the fourth child among five children of Mallappa and Mallamma, two migrant labourers from Kalaburagi. He was attacked by a pack of five dogs as he was returning after buying a packet of biscuits. He died due to excessive building. Police have registered a case based on the parents’ complaint. He was declared dead at 1:30 pm by doctors at a private hospital. “I returned home from work for lunch and Durgesh told me he was ill and didn’t want to eat rice. So he took Rs 5 from me to buy a packet of biscuits. After I gave him the money, I went to have a bath. A little later, I heard my son screaming. I rushed out and found nearly a dozen dogs attacking my son. Passersby chased the dogs away,” TOI quoted Mallapa as saying. A policeman said, “Doctors advised him to shift Durgesh to Saptagiri hospital. However, Durgesh was declared dead on reaching Saptagiri.” According to locals, the dogs used to feed on meat refuse thrown by local butchers and lying at local waste dumps. In another incident, a five-year-old girl was bitten by a stray dog in Neelasandra within Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits. Despite multiple incidents of citizens being attacked by stray dogs, the BBMP, like on several other fronts, has been found wanting. According to its own data, which is contested by experts, 1.7 lakh cases of dog bites have been registered in the last nine years. The Animal Birth Control (ABC) scheme by the BBMP has come to a halt as several irregularities have come to the fore, including the civic body not paying the NGO running the centre.      

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NIA arrests terror suspect near Bengaluru in connection with 2014 Burdwan blast

Terrorism

Prior to Habibur’s arrest, the NIA had last year arrested another terror suspect from the same banned outfit from a location near Bengaluru.

TNM Staff

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The NIA on Tuesday said that it has arrested an absconding Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) operative, wanted in the 2014 Burdwan blast case from rural Bengaluru. The Times of India cited NIA sources saying that the counter-terror agency had nabbed him based on a credible tip-off on Monday. The Deccan Herald reported that the terror accused was staying in a rented accommodation within a local mosque.   The JMB operative, who was identified as 27-year-old Habibur Rehman Sheikh alias Habibur Kabore Shaik or Habibur SK, was arrested by the NIA from Doddabalapura town located near the Karnataka capital. According to senior officials of the counter-terror probe agency, Sheikh was a close associate of senior JMB leader Jahidul Islam alias Kausar and was associated with other JMB leaders like Rahamatullah Sheikh and Moulana Yusuf.  "He was named in the charge-sheet filed by the NIA in the case in March 2015, for his direct involvement in the conspiracy of the JMB to wage war against governments of India and Bangladesh," an NIA official said in Delhi. The official said that Sheikh was an active member of JMB's Bolpur module in West Bengal and had attended a number of training camps conducted by the JMB.  The JMB operative was produced before the NIA Special Judge in Bengaluru earlier in the day and the judge has granted five days' transit remand for producing him before the Special NIA Court in Kolkata. Prior to Habibur’s arrest, the NIA had previously arrested another terror suspect from the same banned outfit near Bengaluru. In August 2018, the NIA had arrested Mohammed Jahidul Islam who is also an accused in the Burdwan blast case and is also the alleged mastermind of the 2013 Bodh Gaya blasts. In those blasts at the UNESCO World Heritage sites, seven people were injured. At least two persons died and another was injured in a bomb explosion at a house in the Khagragarh locality of Burdwan on October 2, 2014. The Bangladesh government banned the JMB in 2005, while India banned it in May 2018.

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Impasse over use of 150-yr-old church land may delay Namma Metro Phase-II

Controversy

While activists are against construction activity inside the compound of the 150-year-old All Saints Church, the BMRCL is unlikely to budge from its original plan.

Soumya Chatterjee

A tough stand by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on the contentious construction activity inside the tree-dotted compound of the 150-year-old All Saints Church may delay the progress of construction of Gottigere-Nagavara Line. The Gottigere-Nagavara Line is part of the Reach 6 of Phase-II of Namma Metro and is set to be ready by March 2023. This as those opposed to the BMRCL’s hardline approach in using part of the 150-year-old church complex as a temporary workshop and resultant culling of over 150 trees are considering moving the Karnataka High Court. A source in the BMRCL claimed that there won’t be any relook in the alignment from BMRCL’s side. Despite multiple attempts, BMRCL MD Ajay Seth could not be reached for comment. Confident that the actions by the BMRCL tantamount to contempt of court, the protestors say that they have no option other than seeking a stay on the construction for the sake of the environment, human health and the city’s heritage.  Leo Saldhana, the senior lawyer and coordinator of the Environment Support Group, said, “Alignments should not be decided based on what engineers decide as per convenience. If that was the case, then the metro alignment was more suited to be taken through Vidhana Soudha. They could have even taken the metro under Vidhana Soudha without damaging any roads meant for public use. But they chose not to do it because of the asymmetry of power.” “As we go to the court, we will ask for a stay as they have already violated the court order related to metro Phase 1. We have been reminding them repeatedly. I have met Ajay Seth a month ago. He, in fact, assured me that the mistakes committed in Phase 1 won't be repeated in Phase 2. And I took his words on face value. But recently, the All Saints congregation showed me a letter which Seth had written to the Bishop. The letter states, 'People are protesting, that is your problem to deal with. If you don't give me the land, I will take it over permanently.’ Now that is what I call administrative terrorism because no IAS officer has the right to take over someone's land,” he added. Saldhana said the high court in its November 2019 verdict in the Environment Support Group and others vs. BMRCL and others case had contended that all large scale infrastructure projects in the state should follow three rounds of a process of public consultation as per the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961. To this date, BMRCL has not undertaken any task or action to comply with the aforesaid direction, which requires the agency to seek the assistance of Bangalore Development Authority in conforming strictly to the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act.  BMRCL has failed to comply with this procedure, and so the proposed work for Phase II of the Metro is in blatant violation of the law and is contemptuous. Environmental activists and churchgoers have insisted that instead of using the church compound as the workshop, BMRCL can use the empty Central Military Police ground in the vicinity. Even the Tree Committee, in its correspondence to the BMRCL, has asked the body to use the vacant military land for the purpose. Speaking to TNM, BBMP Deputy Conservator of Forests, Cholarajappa confirmed that he has not given permission to the BMRCL to cut any tree in the church premises. The BMRCL, however, has not changed its stance on the issue despite multiple protests and representations sent on the issue since April.  A change.org petition seeking a modification in plan from the BMRCL has been supported by more than 31,000 people. Other than the temporary workshop, a station will replace a school for children with learning and cognitive disabilities as well as an old age home. Many also fear that the construction activity will impact the heritage church structure itself. Joseph Hoover, part of the United Conservation Movement, said, “The metro station here itself does not make sense as the next station in Langford Town will be less than 900 m from this current station and if two people start walking from each of the stations they can meet in two minutes. So by doing away with this station, you save the trees. Other than this, no other stations are less than 1 km apart in the stretch. If they compromise, that will be good otherwise the construction itself can be stopped if we approach the courts.” “Also these trees should be counted as sacred groves as they are more than 100 years old and according to the state forest manual, they can’t even touch the trees now. Sadly, the BMRCL is not encouraging discussions, they want to function undemocratically. This is nothing but bureaucratic terrorism," he added.  Public consultation  Sandeep Anirudhan, an activist based in the city, said that these issues crop up as different government agencies from time to time do not follow the stipulated public consultation processes laid down in the law. “Not only BMRCL, but many government agencies are constantly violating these laws. This should be corrected, and in fact, public officials and bodies such as BMRCL, who blatantly violate the laws, ought to be booked and punished. How can the executive turn violator?  Then how do we expect others to follow the laws?” he said.      

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Amid shortage, Karnataka to source anti-rabies vaccine from Kerala, Tamil Nadu

Health

The state health department will also be placing orders directly with manufacturers for the vaccines.

TNM Staff

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Following reports of a shortage of anti-rabies vaccine in the state of Karnataka, the state health department has reached out to officials in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to ensure that there is a minimal supply of the vaccine available in hospitals across the state. While Kerala will be providing 10,000 vials of the vaccine to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu will be providing 5,000 vials of the vaccine. In addition, the Karnataka State Health and Family Welfare department has also decided that it will be placing orders for the anti-rabies vaccine with manufacturers of the vaccine directly, rather than approach the Karnataka State Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society. Till date, the Karnataka State Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society has been the one to provide the vaccine to government hospitals and healthcare centres in the state. While tenders for the supply of drugs were issued in December 2018 and January 2019, they were not met with a good response. Officials from the state had earlier said that they would be floating another tender, however, they have now decided to approach manufacturers of the vaccine directly instead. While a nationwide shortage of the vaccine has been reported, some states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu have a long term contract with companies which supply them with the vaccine. As a result, the two states now have an adequate stock of the vaccine. Dr Sajjan Shetty, Joint Director of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program told TNM earlier that the hospitals were initially being told to procure the drugs from an open market source using funds which had been allocated to the hospitals. An anti-rabies vaccine is administered to people who present with dog bites or any other exposure to a rabies-infected animal. It is given over a period of a few weeks in four doses.

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Karnataka's Valmiki community stages protest in Bengaluru, demands 7.5% reservation

Protest

The protesters resisted attempts by the police to evict them from Freedom Park and insisted that a government official should step out and listen to their concerns.

TNM Staff

Members of the Valmiki community staged a protest in Bengaluru seeking 7.5% reservation for the community in the state. The protest led to a traffic logjam in and around the Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday morning after protesters brought traffic to a standstill near the state secretariat building and at the Karnataka High Court opposite to it.  The protesting community members then converged at Freedom Park to continue their protest. "The reservation set aside for our community is 7.5 per cent as per central government rules but it is only 3% as per state government rules. We are here to demand that the state government should give 7.5% reservation as well. We are a numerically strong community and make up the bulk of the Scheduled Tribes living in Karnataka," says Narasimha Murthy, a 44-year-old protester who arrived in Bengaluru on Tuesday morning. Others at the protest had taken longer and more exhausting routes to reach Bengaluru. A section of the protesters arrived in the city after walking from Rajanahalli in Davanagere district to Bengaluru, a distance of 280 km.  "We began from Rajanahalli on June 9. We decided to hold the padayatra because the reservation for our community is not enough. There are many 30-35 year olds who are struggling to get jobs. The reservation should be decided based on population," says Manjunath Kandigal from Davanagere speaking on the sidelines of the protest. Manjunath claimed that there are 70 lakh members of the community living in Karnataka. The protesters resisted attempts by the police to evict them from Freedom Park and insisted that a government official should step out and listen to their concerns. Actor turned politician and former MP from Chitradurga Shashi Kumar of the JD(S) was present at the protest while BJP MLA B Sriramulu has also expressed his support for the protest. Sriramulu is considered one of the biggest leaders belonging to the Valmiki community. State ministers including power minister DK Shivakumar was held up in the traffic logjam caused by the protest. He got down from his car and decided to travel in the metro instead surprising commuters inside the metro, some of whom clicked selfies with the minister.

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