K'taka govt fixes around Rs 60 lakh as fee per day for legal team fighting border row case in SC
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has fixed a professional fee of Rs 59.9 lakh a day for the team of senior lawyers, including Mukul Rohatgi to fight the case pertaining to border row with Maharashtra in Supreme Court.
A Law department order said it has fixed the terms and conditions and professional fee to the legal team to represent Karnataka before the Supreme Court in an original suit (number 4/2004) filed by the government of Maharashtra against Karnataka on the border dispute.
As per the January 18 order, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi will be paid Rs 22 lakh per day for appearing before the apex court and Rs 5.5 lakh per day for conference and other works.
Another lawyer Shyam Divan will be paid Rs six lakh a day for appearing before the court, Rs 1.5 lakh per day for preparation of the case and other works and Rs 10 lakh for outstation visits per day. The government will bear the expenses on hotel facilities and business class air travel.
The Advocate General of Karnataka will be paid Rs three lakh a day for appearing in the SC, Rs 1.25 lakh per day for preparing cases and other works, Rs two lakh on outstation visits apart from bearing the ehotel and business class air travels.
The state government has also hired senior lawyer Uday Holla, a former advocate general of Karnataka, who will be paid Rs two lakh per day for appearing in the apex court, Rs 75,000 per day for preparation of the case, Rs 1.5 lakh per day for settlement of pleadings and other works, and Rs 1.5 lakh per day for outstation visits apart from hotel and travel expenses.
The boundary row had intensified late last year, with vehicles from either side being targeted, leaders from both the States weighing in, and pro-Kannada and Marathi activists being detained by police amid a tense atmosphere in Belagavi.
The border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of States on linguistic lines. Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to over 800 Marathi-speaking villages which are currently part of Karnataka.
Karnataka maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.
And, as an assertion that Belagavi is an integral part of the State, Karnataka has built the 'Suvarna Vidhana Soudha', modelled on the 'Vidhana Soudha' here.
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No proposal to hike bus fares in Karnataka, says Ramalinga Reddy
Bengaluru: Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has said there is no proposal at present to increase bus fares in the state, even if diesel prices go up.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday, Reddy said he was not aware of any decision to raise diesel prices and added that it would be welcome if no such hike takes place.
He said that although an increase in diesel prices would add to the financial burden of state-run transport corporations such as Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, no discussion has been held so far regarding a revision in passenger fares.
Commenting on the recent salary revision for transport corporation employees, the minister said the government had already conveyed its decision and declined to comment on reports that some employees were dissatisfied with the announcement.
On the delay in holding elections to the Greater Bengaluru Authority, Reddy said it was natural for aspirants to feel disappointed and acknowledged that the postponement was also increasing pressure on party leaders.
He said Bengaluru’s infrastructure development since 1947 had seen substantial progress during Congress governments, but added that questions regarding the reasons for postponing the elections should be addressed to Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar.
Reddy also said he had no information regarding any power-sharing arrangement within the government, but was aware of discussions on a cabinet reshuffle.
He noted that he had travelled to New Delhi only three times in the past three years and said it would be good if the cabinet expansion takes place soon.
According to him, there had been indications that the expansion would occur after two and a half years in office, but it has already been delayed by six months.
