Karnataka Dy CM meets Rajnath Singh; seeks 750 acres defence land in Belagavi for IT park
New Delhi, Feb 13: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwatha Narayana on Saturday called on Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and requested him to handover 750 acres defence land in Belagavi to facilitate setting up of a proposed IT park.
The defence land, which originally belongs to Belagavi, is located adjacent to the National Highway 4 and is ideal for the development of IT park, he told reporters after the meeting.
Though the state government had sought for the transfer of this land in November 2012, it is still in the possession of the defence department, he added.
Narayan, who holds the Electronic and the IT-BT portfolio, said the state government has introduced a new IT policy recently and has rolled out the 'Beyond Bengaluru' project to promote IT/ITes, electronic industries in regions outside Bengaluru.
"In light of the above reasons, handing over of the land in Belagavi would enable the growth of the IT-related industry so as to achieve a balanced growth," he said.
The proposed IT park aims to generate about 60 lakh direct and indirect jobs and there has been a persistent demand for this from the representatives of the Belagavi region, he added.
Met Hon'ble @DefenceMinIndia Shri Rajnath Singh ji and discussed issues regarding our plan to set up an IT park in Belagavi.
— Dr. Ashwathnarayan C. N. (@drashwathcn) February 13, 2021
Thank you for your positive response @rajnathsingh ji. The new IT park will boost our grand vision to develop our IT sector #BeyondBengaluru. https://t.co/pFNiFvCl6w pic.twitter.com/Pg2HhGM2sa
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SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
