Karnataka govt rejects Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats, plans to approach SC

Environment

Karnataka government is planning a legal battle ahead of the National Green Tribunal’s impending decision on the implementation of Kasturirangan report.

Sanjana Deshpande

Representative Image/Pixabay/Prashanth G

The Karnataka government has been preparing to approach the apex court over uncertainties over the implementation of K Kasturirangan Committee report by the Union Government. The report declares nearly 1,500 places across the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive. In their response, the Karnataka government said that they totally reject the Kasturirangan report. “The government has resolved to approach the Supreme Court and challenge the implementation of the report by the Union government if the National Green Tribunal directs them to do so,” read the reply. While the Forest Minister Aravind Limbavali was unavailable for comment when contacted, the Environment and Ecology Minister C P Yogeshwar, who recently assumed the office, said that he is yet to take cognizance of the issue. The state government has taken the decision as the National Green Tribunal is hearing the case filed by Goa Foundation to implement the Kasturirangan committee report. The foundation then moved the case to the Supreme Court that served notice to all the concerned governments to respond. Meanwhile, environmentalists who have been striving to save the Western Ghats region deem this act as inviting disastrous consequences. Joseph Hoover, a prominent environmentalist, said, “The government is asking for trouble. Allowing a little leeway for the natives and farmers in the region is understandable but completely rejecting the report goes against the human interest.” He added that they can only hope that the Supreme Court does not consider the request of impleading the report by the state government. The development should not come at a cost of destroying the fragile ecology. The Kasturirangan report is already the diluted version of the Gadgil report. The complete rejection is unfair towards the people.” Background The Western Ghats are spread across the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat are known for rich biodiversity.  The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), later known as the Gadgil Commission after ecologist and chairman Madhav Gadgil, had first submitted a report in 2011. This report warned the governments of potential natural disasters if the entire Western Ghats were not declared as Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), further divided into Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ) 1, ESZ 2 and ESZ 3 based on the level of sensitivity, with ESZ-1 being most sensitive. It further suggested the formation of a Western Ghats Ecology Authority (WGEA) as a legal authority under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. However, the Gadgil Committee report was criticised for being ‘too environment friendly’ and having recommendations that were impractical to implement, such as banning growing of all single commercial crops like tea and coffee, decommissioning dams and thermal power stations, and not creating new hill stations. The report was in focus after the Kerala and Karnataka floods of 2019. In 2013, another committee headed by Dr K Kasturirangan submitted a revised report on the region. Compared to the Gadgil Committee report, which recommended that around 70% of the Western Ghats be declared ESA, the Kasturirangan Committee report nearly halved this recommendation to cover 37% of the Western Ghats. Headed by Dr K Kasturirangan, a former head of ISRO, the committee recommended that as much as 20,668 sq. km spread across 11 districts in the Western Ghats comprising 1,592 villages be declared as ESA. It asked for a blanket ban on mining, quarrying and other activities; and made several pro-farmer recommendations, including exempting inhabited regions and plantations from being classified as ecologically sensitive. However, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat rejected this report. The Karnataka government, too, has accepted recommendations from neither the Gadgil nor the Kasturirangan Committee report. The Union government, meanwhile, issued a draft notification in 2014 to implement the Kasturirangan report for protection of the recommended area. After this, two other notifications were drafted on the issue in 2015 and 2017 by the Union Government. The Karnataka government, however, refused to implement and filed their response rejecting the committee’s report, and said it will halt development in the region. However, the National Green Tribunal, which was already presiding over a case, wanted the Centre to finalise the notification (based on the Kasturirangan report) by December 31, 2020. However, Hoover says that “development should not come at a cost of destroying the fragile ecology.” He argues, “The Kasturirangan report is already the diluted version of the Gadgil report. The complete rejection is unfair towards the people.”

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Minister visits Bengaluru schoolboy who attempted suicide after humiliation over fees

Education

The private school in HSR Layout in Bengaluru has been served a show cause notice.

Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar on Thursday visited and offered support to a 17-year-old Bengaluru student who attempted to take his life after being reprimanded in front of his batchmates for being unable to pay his school fees. The Department of Public Instruction has already issued a notice to the private school in HSR Layout for harassing the student.  According to The Times of India, Suresh Kumar went to the student’s home and offered support to the boy, who was also reportedly not allowed to write his school-level exams. He urged the student to muster courage and rise above adversity, and counselled the boy. The minister also cited the example of Mahesh, a son of a migrant worker who made news for performing exceptionally well in the SSLC exams in 2020.  Officials in the state Education Department said that the school has been served a show-cause notice under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Karnataka Education Act and may even lose its accreditation.  The TOI report said that the police had allegedly not cooperated with the child’s parents when they went to register a complaint against the school management. This incident comes at a time when private schools are agitating against the state government over the school fee regulation. While the government has ordered that schools cannot take more than 70% of tuition fees, the schools have been citing that they are facing a financial crunch. Two days after the private schools requested the government to cap the fee cut limit at 15%, they announced that the school managements, teachers and non-teaching will stage a protest and demanded that the order be repealed.  The school associations were also considering approaching the courts over the matter, citing that the resulting fund crunch will mean that they will not be able to pay their staff fully.

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If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide-prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.   

Tamil Nadu

State health department's suicide helpline: 104

Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)

Andhra Pradesh

Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930

Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584

Karnataka

Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222

Kerala

Maithri: 0484 2540530

Chaithram: 0484 2361161

Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.

Telangana

State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104

Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200

SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm)

Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.    

24x7 Helpline: 9820466726

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Karnataka proposes to regularise madrasas, introduce standard curriculum

Education

Karnataka Minority Welfare Minister Shrimant Patil said students enrolled in madrasas are disadvantaged because they have no introduction to formal education.

TNM Staff

Twitter

The Karnataka government is mulling the regularisation of madrasas in the state and will be introducing other subjects and handing out SSLC equivalent certificates to madrasa students. Karnataka Minister for Minority Welfare Shrimant Patil, while speaking in Mangaluru on Thursday, said that there are many madrasas across the state and the students enrolled in the institutions are disadvantaged because they have no introduction to formal education.  “Just religious studies will not help the kids in today’s day and age,” Patil said, addressing the media on Thursday. “With the religious studies, we will introduce a standard curriculum and certificates that will in future aid the students to study further if they wish to, or they can enrol in any job-oriented course.” He then mentioned that religious leaders have been consulted over the matter and that their response has been positive. Watch the Minister's statement here:   Karnataka Minister Shrimant Patil proposes regularisation of Madrasas, says only religious teachings won't help kids, says state plans to have various subjects as a part of curriculum, plans to give out SSLC equivalent certificates to the students from Madrasas. Deliberations on. pic.twitter.com/8yMzDNVrrK — Deepak Bopanna (@dpkBopanna) February 12, 2021   The matter will be discussed with education experts pertaining the syllabus and subjects like English, Mathematics and Science will be introduced in the curriculum. The plan is in the initial stage as of now, said the minister.  According to Patil, the minorities department has sent a proposal to the Union government requesting for industrial training institutes (ITI) in all districts across the state, and similarly, proposals to set up polytechnic colleges in administrative divisions has also been sent. According to TOI, the institutions will be set up in the state by the Union government under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) scheme. Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will be conducting a meeting over the varied plans and the matter will be discussed too, he said. The aim, the minister added, was to improve the quality of education the students of minority communities get and the regions with unsatisfactory quality of education will be focused on. During his visit to Mangaluru, the minister also laid foundation stones for multiple educational institutions for students of minority communities. 

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Bengaluru FC name Marco Pezzaiuoli as the new head coach

Sports

The 52-year-old was with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt where he served as Technical Director until recently.

TNM Staff

Bengaluru FC have appointed Marco Pezzaiuoli as the club’s Head Coach on a three-year performance-based contract that runs till the end of the 2023-24 season, the club announced on Thursday. He will succeed Spanish coach Carles Cuadrat, who was sacked by the club in January. Read: Bengaluru FC part ways with head coach Carles Cuadrat A German-born Italian, Pezzaiuoli’s first assignment will be leading Bengaluru in the AFC Cup Preliminary Stage 2 game that takes place on April 14. The 52-year-old was with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt where he served as Technical Director until recently. Commenting on the appointment, BFC Director Parth Jindal said, “Marco brings with him tremendous experience of having worked with clubs in the top tier in Europe and Asia, along with a significant stint with the age-group sides of the German national team. What drew me to appointing him was his intent, organisation and clarity of thought on how he wants to take Bengaluru FC back to where we belong. Our ambition has been to play the AFC Champions League and I believe Marco has the vision and style to lead us there. The senior team aside, his expertise with youth will go a long way in helping us further build on the success of our academy. Marco’s appointment is a statement of intent from the club and about how serious we are about bringing Bengaluru FC back to the top.” Pezzaiuoli started his coaching career as the Youth Director at Karlsruher SC. His first stint outside Germany was with Suwon Samsung Bluewings FC in South Korea, where he won the K-League and K-League Cup in 2004. He returned to Germany later and took charge of the German youth teams. With the likes of Mario Gotze, Marc Andre ter Stegen, Shokradan Mustafi and Bernd Leno, his U17 side won the European Championship in 2009.  Along with Matthias Sammer, he put together a new football philosophy and training program for the national team ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He also worked as the team analyst for Germany at Euro 2008. Pezzaiuoli then joined Ralf Rangnick as an assistant at TSG Hoffenheim, coaching players like Robert Firmino, Gylfi Sigurdsson and David Alaba. He also acted as the interim coach of Hoffenheim and played a key role in making sure that the young team staved off relegation from the Bundesliga. His experience in Asia also includes stints at Cerezo Osaka (Japan) and Guangzhou Evergrande FC (China). Speaking on his appointment, Pezzaiuoli said, “I’m very proud to be a part of Bengaluru FC, and excited about the challenge to bring the team back to the top. I am always keen to gather experiences in life and football and to be able to make a difference wherever I go. I’m also keen to share my experience to help Indian football grow. I’m really looking forward to joining the team as soon as I can.”

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Karnataka BJP MP Yatnal finally gets show cause notice for tirade against CM

Politics

However, not everyone is convinced that the show cause notice will invite any real action against Yatnal.

Soumya Chatterjee

File image

For weeks now, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa's biggest critic has been his senior BJP colleague and MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. From claiming Yediyurappa was being blackmailed by other MLAs to accusing that the CM's son was running a parallel government- Yatnal has levelled many allegations against Yediyurappa. However, it was only on Friday that the BJP high command finally sent Yatnal a show cause notice for his constant tirade against Yediyurappa. Yatnal has been given 15 days to reply to this notice. However, not everyone is convinced that the show cause notice will invite any real action against Yatnal. “This may be just posturing by the party high command as it has been alleged often that much of the dissent against Yediyurappa is fuelled by the high command only. Yatnal's reply to this show cause notice may also be worth noting if he states that Yediyurappa has already become CM 4-times and is trying to instill dynastic politics in the state,” Mahadev Prakash, a senior political analyst told TNM.  Yatnal is an MLA from the Vijayapura constituency and is believed to be close to the RSS. It was in October 2020 that he first targeted the Chief Minister and said that Yediyurappa would not remain Chief Minister for long and the high command had decided that his successor would be from the north Karnataka region. While many alleged that the RSS had propped up Yatnal to take on Yediyurappa, others pointed out that Yatnal being a member of the Panchamasali community, the largest subsect within the various subcastes of the Lingayat community, stopped the BJP from acting against him. Though BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, BJP National General secretary CT Ravi and others, considered to be close to BL Santosh, supported Yediyurappa, the party refrained from acting against Yatnal. Read: The quota conundrum in Karnataka poses threat to Yediyurappa's legacy Recently, Yatnal said that a new Chief Minister will assume office after Ugadi on April 13. This statement on January 30 had come even after senior leaders of the party both in the state and central unit had warned leaders not to make such statements. Following Yatnal's repeated assertions, Arun Singh, BJP General Secretary In-charge of Karnataka stated that there will be no change in Karnataka's CM.

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Bengaluru Shivananda steel flyover to be completed by May, BBMP instructs officials

Transport

A 493-meter long overpass is being constructed on 16 pillars at Sivananda Circle, of which nine pillars have been completed and six are in progress.

TNM Staff

The Shivananda flyover in Bengaluru’s Central Business District, which has already faced many delays, has been given a new deadline after Bengaluru Bruhat Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Administrator Gaurav Gupta visited the construction site and instructed that the construction of the flyover be completed in three months, that is, by May 2021. Gupta has instructed that all pending issues including land acquisition, water pipe displacement and others, which are leading to the delays, be sorted out within three months. A 493-meter long overpass is being constructed on 16 pillars at Sivananda Circle, of which nine pillars have been completed and six pillars are in progress. However, work on one pillar has been delayed since there is a 700-mm water pipeline that needs to be shifted. Officials said that 450-mm of the water pipeline located in front of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) has been shifted. The BBMP administrator has instructed that the pipeline elsewhere after obtaining permission from the traffic police department, as the work may hamper traffic movement in the area. The authorities are likely to ask the police to divert traffic for seven days. For the flyover, 579 metres of land from seven properties is to be acquired and Gaurav Gupta has directed the officials to complete the process by issuing a transfer of development rights (TDR) to the owner of the seven properties. The administrator has also asked the Railways to develop a concrete box near the railway underpass where the construction is taking place, in order to ensure smooth traffic flow. Some of the trees on the roadway have to be shifted elsewhere, an official said. The rulers responded and instructed the forest officials to take up the tree transplant immediately. The flyover is being developed by the Bangalore Metropolitan Planning Division and Joint Commissioners Pallavi Sivaswamy, Deputy Commissioner (Land Acquisition) Harish Naik, Chief of the Planning Division Ramesh, Superintendent of Engineers Lokesh, Deputy Forest Conservator Ranganathaswamy and other relevant officials were present with Gaurav Gupta for the inspection. The Shivananda flyover has faced delays as well as protests by the residents of Bengaluru, who say that the flyover may not really change the city’s traffic problem and that the flyover is being built at an environmental cost.

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11 students arrested for allegedly ragging five juniors in Mangaluru

Crime

The students who were harassed approached the college management, following which a police complaint was filed.

TNM Staff

Eleven students were arrested on Thursday for their alleged involvement in ragging in Kanachur Institute of Medical Sciences, a private college in Mangaluru. All the arrested were natives of Kerala and had allegedly ragged five freshers from their state by assaulting them, Mangaluru City Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar told reporters. Shashi Kumar said that the accused had allegedly forced the first year students to shave their mustaches and have a hair cut. Other than that, they were also made to count the number of matchsticks in a matchbox and measure a room using matchsticks.  The students who were harassed approached the college management, which in turn filed a police complaint. "After interrogating 18 students in this connection, we have arrested 11 students," the Commissioner said, adding they had been booked under sections 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the State Education Act. Those who refused to obey the diktat by the accused were physically assaulted and locked in a room. Further they were also threatened not to report this ragging incident to the college management, police said. The Hindu identified the accused as Mohammed Shamos (19), Asin Babu (19), both from Kozhikode, Akshay KS (19), Robin Biju (20), Alwyn Joey (19), Jerome Cyril (19), all from Kottayam, Abdul Ananas (21), Jayfin Roichanna (19), both from Kasaragod, Mohammed Suraj (19) from Pathanamthitta and Zubin Mehroof (21) and Abdul Basit (19), both from Malappuram. Addressing reporters, the Police Commissioner warned students not to get involved in ragging and stated that it will damage their careers. He also urged students subjected to ragging to report the incidents to their college management, teachers or directly to the police. According to reports, another incident had been recently reported in the district where nine senior students of a pharmacy college in the district were arrested for assaulting a first year student. (PTI Inputs)

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