Centre's nod for 22 express highways worth Rs 1.5L crore in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Dec 10: In a major thrust to infrastructure development in Karnataka, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry on Tuesday gave the nod for 22 Green express highways in Karnataka worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore.
This includes a new alignment of the Pune-Bengaluru Express Highway, which will be completed in the next few years at a cost of Rs 50,000 crore.
Today we met Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.
We have just sanctioned projects worth more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the state.
Actually the annual infrastructure plan for Karnataka was Rs 2,150 crore, which we decided to increase to Rs 3,990 crore, Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways said.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of the 10th edition of Excon-2019, a five-day International Construction Equipment and Construction Technology Trade Fair here.
The event has been organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in association with the Karnataka government, Ministry for Road Transport and Highways and the National Highway Authority of India.
We are making 22 green express highways. Today we cleared the Pune-Bengaluru project as a Green Express Highway, a new alignment of 600 km, costing about Rs 50,000 crore."
Gadkari said his ministry and the state have sanctioned 2,300 km of new roads where the Detailed Project Report is ready.
The bidding process would start soon, he said, adding that the Chief Minister had given an assurance on clearing any hassles related to land acquisition and environment clearance for these projects.
Another important infrastructure project of ring road in Bengaluru was also resolved in the meeting, with the Centre agreeing to the States request to bear 80 per cent of the land acquisition cost, he said.
However, the Ministry expected the state to exempt taxes on steel and cement to be used for building the ring road.
So today the problem with the ring road is resolved and today it will be a great present from the chief minister to the people of Karnataka, Gadkari said.
He opined that these highway projects would become the growth engine for Karnataka.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
