CM Bommai urges Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to clear projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore
Bengaluru (PTI): Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday appealed to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari to clear projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore in the state.
He also requested him to undertake projects related to ring roads in Raichur, Gadag, Koppal and Shivamogga as well.
"We mainly discussed the works of the national highway. Work is presently underway in projects worth around Rs 46,830 crore but still work on projects worth more than Rs 1 lakh has to be done. A decision has been taken to fast track those projects," Bommai told reporters after a meeting with Gadkari here on Thursday.
He also said the STRR (Satellite Town Ring Road) project is coming up at the Bannerghatta Reserved Forest.
Since it is an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ), the chief minister asked the wildlife committee to recommend an alternative route as the state government does not want the project to go through the Bannerghatta Reserved Forest.
"We have asked the state wildlife committee to make an alternative route for that. We have said that we don't want the project to go through the Bannerghatta Reserved Forest. They have agreed for it. The length and the cost of the project will increase but we have said we are not bothered about it. We have asked the officials to come up with an alternative route outside Bannerghatta," Bommai said.
Bommai said Gadkari also agreed to sanction Rs 1,000 crore for the Railway Over Bridge (ROB) and Railway Under Bridge (RUB).
The chief minister said these ROB and RUBs are required in Ballari, Mangaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, and Belagavi.
There were also discussions on the Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) in Bengaluru. The leaders also spoke about the Raichur Ring Road, Koppal Ring Road, Gadag Ring Road and Shivamogga Ring Road.
"He has agreed to take up these ring road projects. We will be taking up the land acquisition, for which he agreed," Bommai said.
Gadkari was in Bengaluru to inspect the Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway and Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway project.
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Hours after Kharge's snub, Bengal Cong chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury sticks to his anti-Mamata stance
Kolkata, May 18: In a veiled reference to West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he cannot speak in favour of someone who wants to finish him politically and his party in the state.
His comment comes hours after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that Chowdhury is no one to take a decision on whether Banerjee would be part of the INDIA bloc in the event of the anti-BJP alliance coming to power after the Lok Sabha polls.
Asked about Kharge’s statement, Chowdhury, who is seeking re-election from Baharampur on a Congress ticket, said, “I cannot speak in favour of someone who wants to finish me politically and our party in Bengal. This is a battle for every Congress worker. I have spoken on their behalf.”
Stating that his opposition to Banerjee stemmed from his principled stance, not from his interest, Chowdhury said “There is no personal grudge but I question her political ethics."
Asked about Mamata Banerjee's comment that she will support the INDIA bloc government from the outside and Chowdhury's remark that the Bengal CM cannot be trusted and she might go with the BJP, Kharge told reporters, "Mamata Banerjee is with the alliance. She has recently said that she will join the government. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary will not take the decision. The decision will be taken by me and the high command those who don't agree will go out."
Chowdhury also alleged that Banerjee had "taken Maoists' help to discredit the Left in Purulia, Bankura and Jhargram and then abandoned them.
“I don’t want the state Congress to be used for her personal agenda and then finish the organisation. If Kharge ji speaks against my views, I will continue to speak for Congressmen at the grassroots in the state.”
The TMC is contesting the Lok Sabha elections alone in the state, while the Congress and the Left are jointly fighting.
