Karnataka Cabinet approves implementation of water resilience project worth Rs 5,000 crore
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Cabinet has approved the implementation of the World Bank-assisted Karnataka Water Security and Disaster Resilience Programme (KWSRDP) at an estimated cost of Rs 5,000 crore.
The World Bank will give a loan of Rs 3,500 crore for the project.
The project will be taken up after the approval of the Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India, and signing of the loan agreement with the World Bank.
It was decided in the cabinet meeting on Thursday to authorise the Department of Revenue (Disaster Management) to implement the KWSDRP.
The government has also directed to authorise the Department of Finance to negotiate the loan with the World Bank to determine the terms and currency of the loan, pending the approval of the Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India.
The cabinet also gave its nod to the Public Private Partnership Policy-2025.
It also decided to withdraw the Karnataka Urban and Rural Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2024 pertaining to premium floor area ratio (FAR).
The decision was taken in view of Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot returning the Bill seeking some clarifications.
"Since the points on which the Governor has sought clarifications involve legal aspects, it is appropriate to consult with the relevant stakeholders. A comprehensive review is advisable," a cabinet note said.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
