Kumaraswamy meets Gadkari, seeks Centre's support for Karnataka road projects, ET Infra
Push for Shiradi Ghat completion, highway upgrades
Upgrading the NH-75 Kunigal section
Declaring the Channarayapatna–Makutta road (State Highway 8) as a National Highway
Converting the Jewargi–Shorapur route into a 4-lane road
Addressing landslide-prone stretches at Shirur Ghat (NH-66), Shiradi Ghat (NH-75), and Bargi Ghat
Constructing a flyover at Jogihalli in Tumakuru district
Building a railway overbridge at Gijjalagere Gate (NH-275) in Mandya district
Constructing a ring road (southern bypass) around Mandya city
Preparing a DPR for a bypass to Pandavapura town from km 595.260 on NH-275 via NH-150A
Advt
By ,
ETInfra
Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy , met Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari , on Tuesday to discuss infrastructure proposals for Karnataka, including a proposed underground road network and the Peripheral Ring Road in Bengaluru.During the meeting at Gadkari's residence in New Delhi, Kumaraswamy raised concerns over increasing traffic congestion in Bengaluru and sought the Centre's assistance for implementing new road systems aimed at connecting key zones in the city.Kumaraswamy said the rapid population growth in Bengaluru has led to rising congestion and stressed the need for a new road network and ring road system. He added that these projects could help decongest the city centre and enable more sustainable urban planning.Gadkari was reportedly receptive to the proposals.Kumaraswamy also urged the Minister to expedite work on the Shiradi Ghat Road Project , a key route linking Bengaluru to Mangaluru. He flagged the slow pace of construction, saying it has impacted connectivity and caused disruptions for travellers and freight movement.He further sought Centre's intervention in other ongoing or proposed highway projects across the state. These include:Kumaraswamy also thanked Gadkari for the completion of the Bengaluru–Mysuru Expressway and the Bengaluru–Chennai National Highway.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
13 minutes ago
- Mint
Centre working on framework to help panchayats become financially-autonomous
New Delhi: The government is working on a framework to help village councils (panchayats) generate their own revenue and become financially autonomous, carrying out development works without relying on funds from the Centre or states. The Union Panchayati Raj ministry has set up a panel, consisting of senior officials from various state governments, which is tasked with formulating a blueprint that can act as a guide for states and Union territories (UTs) in creating and amending their model OSR (Own Source of Revenue) rules. "We have constituted a committee comprising senior officials from various state governments, to prepare a model OSR framework of panchayats, which can serve as a benchmark for the states in formulating and amending their OSR rules," Vivek Bharadwaj, secretary, ministry of panchayati raj, said. The template, to be shared with states and UTs, aims to plug the gaps in existing regulations and guide local bodies in mobilising revenue, which mainly comes from taxes, fees and other charges. The development assumes significance, as nearly a dozen states and UTs don't have OSR rules. The 22 states and UTs that have already formulated the rules need to update them, said Bharadwaj. Own Source Revenue (OSR) refers to the revenues that panchayats generate on their own, from sources such as property tax, water charges, market fees, trade licence fees and building permit fees. OSR rules help regulate, standardize, and empower panchayats to collect and manage the revenues efficiently. The OSR rules are crucial to panchayat as they empower them to function independently and also reduce over-dependence on central and state grants. Additionally, they support local development projects with locally-generated funds. According to Bharadwaj, there are 11 states and UTs that have not yet framed OSR rules. These include Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Ladakh and Lakshadweep. Twenty two states and UTs have already developed and implemented OSR-based regulations, allowing panchayats to levy and collect taxes, fees, tolls, or other local sources of revenue. Among these states are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. Some States have detailed guidelines on fixing OSR rates. In many instances across the states, it has been observed that much more efforts need to be made towards fulfilment of these requirements. "Financial rules related to OSR generation were prepared long ago in states, and hence have been suffering from various deficiencies like use of incomprehensible legal jargons and lack of updating," Bharadwaj added. Panchayats, which act as grassroots-level bodies to implement government programmes and for achieving the sustainable development goals, get grants from the Centre, state governments, as well as raise their own revenue in a limited way through internal sources like local-tax revenues and user charges. "Self-sufficiency is an ideal state for gram panchayats as they can have more funds to carry out developmental works. However revenue collection is conditional as it depends on economic activities in a particular area," said Sri Hari Nayudu, economist, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi. "Most of the time we are dependent on state government grants for developmental works, since most of us doen't know how to increase revenue. The proposed rules can guide us in that direction," said Gurcharan Singh, Panch-Charik Patti Sarkar, a rural local body in Moga district of Punjab. In 2021-22, the average per capita OSR collected by panchayats at all-India level was ₹ 100. Also, the average OSR for gram panchayat was ₹ 230,000 per year, with 42% of gram panchayats having less than ₹ 100,000 revenue per year. "The key reasons behind low revenue collection are over-dependence on grants, underutilization of tax powers, weak administrative systems and trust deficit with citizens which limit the revenue," said an economist who requested not to identified.
The Hindu
15 minutes ago
- The Hindu
State seeks additional supply of urea coming in 4 ships by month-end to overcome 2.69L tonnes short supply
Minister for Agriculture Tummala Nageswara Rao has alleged that the Centre has badly failed in supplying the allotted urea to Telangana for the April-August period this year resulting in scarcity of the fertilizer in demand. At a meeting with the officials of the Agriculture department held here on Sunday, he suggested that the farming community not to purchase more urea than the required quantity to overcome the crisis at the earliest and demanded that the Centre supply at least 80,000 tonnes of additional urea from the stock being imported through four ships and reaching the country by the month-end. Director of Agriculture B. Gopi informed the meeting that the Centre had allotted five varieties of fertilizer to the State for this kharif season, including 9.8 lakh tonnes of urea and another 13.95 lakh tonnes of DAP, complex, MoP and SSP. The Minister stated that of the 8.3 lakh tonnes urea allotment for the April-August period, the Centre had so far supplied 5.32 lakh tonnes, leaving a shortfall of 2.69 lakh tonnes. He explained that the allotment was 4.34 lakh tonnes of urea produced within the country and 3.96 lakh tonnes of imported urea. Of the allotment, only 3.27 lakh tonnes of indigenous urea and 2.05 lakh tonnes of imported urea was supplied to the State. Of the indigenous urea, the lion's share was to be supplied from RFCL Ramagundam, but there was no production in the plant for 78 days out of 145 days from April to August, leading to a shortage of urea in the State. Of the imported urea, some companies had not supplied any amount of the fertilizer for at least for two-three months. Without knowing such facts, the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders of the State were speaking nonsense and trying to mislead the farming community. The matter was apprised to the Centre and the Union Minister concerned through letters several times and had also met them personally along with the officials, but in vain. Apart from Telangana, States such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab and others were also facing urea scarcity reflecting Centre's failure to supply.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
BJP leaders to be questioned regarding Suresh Gopi's suspected leopard tooth pendant
At least two BJP leaders, who were seen accompanying Union Minister Suresh Gopi at Thrissur on the day he wore a chain with a pendant made of a suspected leopard tooth, will be summoned for interrogation. The Pattikkad Range Forest Officer is likely to issue notices to the party leaders to record their statements this week on a complaint filed by a Congress worker A.A. Mohamed Hashim. Mr. Hashim had complained that the act of wearing a leopard tooth, a wildlife trophy, was an offence punishable under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The Forest department had recorded the statements of Mr. Hashim in this regard last month. Mr. Hashim, who shared the news video clips of Mr. Gopi walking along the Swaraj Round wearing the suspected wildlife trophy, had identified one of the accompanying persons as K.K. Aneeshkumar, the Thrissur district president of BJP. Though unable to name the other one, the complainant had said he was an identifiable person. In Kannur too He had indicated that the Minister was seen wearing the ornament made out of suspected leopard tooth at a public function in Kannur too. Mr. Hashim, while giving his statement to the department, wanted the suspected ornament to be seized and its period of manufacture ascertained. Information will be sought from the persons who were seen walking along with Mr. Gopi, on whether they had any idea that he was wearing the ornament made of a wildlife trophy. The possible existence of videos or pictures that would give clues on the material constituting the ornament will be explored, since the videos shared by the complainant are insufficient to prove the allegations, sources said. The investigating officer will decide on questioning Mr. Gopi after looking into the statements of the witnesses and the evidence, they said. Meanwhile, the Pattikkad Range Forest officer recently booked a wildlife crime against a person arrested by the Thrissur police for allegedly possessing suspected narcotic substances the other day. A suspected leopard tooth, ivory and a few strands of elephant tail hair were also recovered from the accused. The suspected wildlife trophies would be sent for analysis to ascertain their genuineness. If confirmed, the accused would be prosecuted under the Wildlife Protection Act, sources said.
