Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul Gandhi to address public meeting in Ballari today
Ballari (PTI): To celebrate the Bharat Jodo Yatra reaching the 1,000-km milestone, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address a mega public meeting in Ballari in poll-bound Karnataka on Saturday.
After a night halt at the Halakundhi Math on Friday, Gandhi resumed his march on Saturday to reach Kamma Bhavan in the district headquarters town of Ballari.
The public meeting will take place at the Municipal Ground in the afternoon.
Top Congress leaders, including Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan chief ministers Bhupesh Baghel and Ashok Gehlot, former chief ministers Siddaramaiah, Kamal Nath, and Selja Kumari, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Digvijaya Singh will attend the event in Ballari.
With just six months left for the assembly elections, the Congress in Karnataka is pinning high hopes on the yatra led by Gandhi as well as the public meeting in Ballari -- being seen as the party's mega show of strength.
Ballari had witnessed a 320-km 'padayatra' by Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah back in 2010 against the alleged illegal mining by the Reddy brothers under the BJP rule.
The march against G Janardhana Reddy, Karunakara Reddy and Somashekara Reddy was a major turning point for the Congress as it helped sharpen its attack on the then Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and unseat the BJP government.
The Congress had won the 2013 assembly polls in the state.
Leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi has so far covered four states -- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
On Saturday morning, hundreds of people lined up on both sides of the road to greet Gandhi as his caravan moved ahead amidst drumbeats and sloganeering.
The route was dotted with festoons, banners, posters and Congress flags while several people shook hands, hugged and interacted with Gandhi.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Karnataka on September 30 and will make a final exit on October 20 after covering 511 km in 21 days. The yatra is aimed at uniting India against the divisive forces.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Karnataka to introduce new affordable housing policy with EWS mandate for private developers
Bengaluru: Karnataka is drafting a new Affordable Housing Policy that may require private real estate developers to allocate a portion of their projects for economically weaker sections (EWS). This initiative is part of preliminary discussions aimed at addressing the state’s housing challenges.
The policy is being developed by the Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS), an urban-focused research organization co-founded by Nandan Nilekani and Deepak Parekh. IIHS was chosen for this task without a tender process.
Housing Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan's office has confirmed that discussions are underway to include a clause mandating private developers to reserve inventory for EWS buyers. At present, residential layouts are only required to allocate spaces for civic amenities such as parks and playgrounds.
The policy is a key component of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's agenda for affordable housing. It aims to streamline procedures in the housing sector while ensuring inter-departmental coordination. It will replace the 2016 housing policy and is expected to help Karnataka secure additional funding from union government housing schemes.
Funding challenges have hindered the state's housing programs, such as the Chief Minister’s One Lakh Housing Scheme, where the per-unit cost of ₹11.2 lakh places a significant financial burden on beneficiaries. With banks reluctant to lend, the government faces an estimated ₹3,700 crore shortfall.
The state is evaluating two affordable housing models proposed by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The first model, the Land Sharing Model, involves the government providing land to private developers, who would dedicate 30-50% of the land to affordable housing. Once the housing units are completed, they would be handed over to the government for distribution, while the developers would monetize the remaining land.
The second model, the Interest Subsidy Model, suggests offering a 3-5% subsidy on home loan interest, which would reduce monthly installments for beneficiaries from ₹8,700 to ₹5,500-6,800. This approach is expected to cost the government ₹60-170 crore annually.
