12 Congress MLAs join TRS, seek merger of Congress Legislature Party
Hyderabad: In a huge setback for the Congress in Telangana, 12 of its MLAs Thursday met Assembly Speaker P Srinivas Reddy and gave him a representation to merge the Congress Legislature Party with the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi.
The Congress's strength in the 119-member House came down to 18 after the party's Telangana state unit chief Uttam Kumar Reddy tendered his resignation from the Assembly Thursday after being elected to Lok Sabha from Nalgonda.
In a dramatic turn of events, Tandoor Congress MLA Rohith Reddy met TRS Working President and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's son KT Rama Rao and pledged his loyalty to the ruling outfit.
In March, 11 Congress MLAs had announced that they would join the TRS.
Senior Congress legislator Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy said the 12 MLAs decided to work with the chief minister for the development of the state.
He further confirmed that they gave a representation to the Speaker requesting him to merge them with the TRS.
"We held a special meeting of the Congress Legislature Party. The 12 members supported the leadership of Chief Minister KCR and wanted to work with him. We gave a representation to the Speaker and requested him to merge us with the TRS," Reddy said.
As 12 MLAs account for two-third of the Congress Legislature Party, which has an effective strength of 18, they will not attract provisions of the anti-defection law, officials said.
If the Speaker accepts their request, the Congress may lose the Opposition party status as its strength will come down to just six.
The AIMIM led by Hyderabad Lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi has seven members in the Assembly, while the BJP has just one. The TRS won 88 seats in the Assembly polls held in December last year.
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Nearly 700 km of Karnataka rivers polluted; cities, towns depend on contaminated water
Shivamogga: A total of 693.75 of river stretches across Karnataka are polluted, and water from several of these rivers is being supplied to towns and cities, the State government informed the Legislative Assembly.
According to a report published by The New Indian Express on Monday, replying to an unstarred question by Thirthahalli MLA Araga Jnanendra during the winter session in Belagavi, Forest, Environment and Biodiversity Minister Eshwar Khandre said rivers are classified into five categories, P1 to P5, based on Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels, with P1 being the most polluted.
He reportedly said untreated domestic wastewater from urban and rural areas is the main reason for river pollution. Arkavati, Lakshana Teertha, Tungabhadra, Bhadra, Tunga, Cauvery, Kabini, Kagina, Krishna, Shimsha, Bheema and Netravati are the polluted rivers and so far, 112 polluted drainages along these rivers have been identified.
Khandre explained that rivers are classified into five pollution categories P1 to P5. The Arkavati River has been placed in the P1 category, while no rivers fall under P2 and P3. Tungabhadra, Bhadra and Shimsha are categorised under P4, and eight other rivers fall under P5.
Khandre allegedly said domestic wastewater from municipalities, towns and villages along riverbeds is being discharged into at least 17 rivers, identified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This is the primary cause of river pollution.
According to the report, the minister said drinking water is being supplied from polluted rivers in districts such as Mandya, Ramanagara, Vijayapura and Shivamogga. In parts of Uttara Kannada, Ballari, Vijayanagara and Bagalkot, local bodies are also drawing water from polluted river sources.
In 2022-23, CPCB identified South Pinakini, Aghanashini, Sharavathi and Gangavali rivers too as polluted. But wrote to CPCB, stating that these rivers are not polluted and sought their removal from the list. An action plan is being prepared for the South Pinakini River, he said.
On remedial measures, Khandre reportedly said the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board is setting up sewage treatment plants as per the directions of National Green Tribunal.
As per the report, under 12 river rejuvenation plans, the state generates 817.31 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage. While 41 STPs with a capacity of 614.1 MLD are operational, 203.21 MLD of sewage remains untreated.
Work is underway to establish 19 STPs with a capacity of 248.91 MLD, while 39 more STPs with a combined capacity of 357.92 MLD are in the planning stage. Progress is being monitored and reported regularly to the NGT and the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The minister reportedly said the state government gave its approval for underground drainage works worth Rs 535.56 crore in 2021 for 24 cities/towns besides Rs 523.80 crore for nine UGD projects.
