CM Bommai instructs officials to complete all works under Smart City project within a year
Hubballi, Jun 26: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday instructed officials to complete all the works related to Hubballi-Dharwad Smart City project within a year.
The Chief Minister was speaking after inaugurating a slew of civic infrastructure works under the Hubballi-Dharwad Smart City project in Hubballi.
Launched in 2014-15, the Smart City works were to be completed in 2020, Bommai said.
He instructed the officials to complete all the ongoing works before March 31 of the current financial year.
Already 555 works under the project have been completed, a statement issued by his office said.
"There should be no compromise on quality of the works under the Smart City project. Action should be taken against the contractors who fail to maintain high quality in the works," Bommai warned.
The Chief Minister said there should not be any disparity in development of the district.
Stating that the foundation stone for a branch of Jayadeva Cardiac Hospital to be built at a cost of Rs 300 crore will be laid in August, Bommai said orders have been issued for establishing an FMCG cluster in Dharwad which would create about one lakh jobs.
The Special Investment Zones are being set up in Tumakuru and Dharwad, Bommai said, adding the Hubballi-Ankola railway project would be taken up soon as the environment clearance is expected for it.
"We are intending to launch implementation of Tumakuru-Davanagere and Dharwad-Belagavi railway projects this year. Development of Northern Karnataka region would get a big boost through comprehensive development of Hubballi-Dharwad," Bommai said.
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SC asks states to treat rising child trafficking cases as grave; seeks coordinated action
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has voiced grave concern over rising cases of child trafficking, saying gangs are operating across the country and if States and Union territories do not take immediate action, thing will go beyond control.
The court said only the state government and its home department can act vigilantly in this regard.
“As a court we can monitor, but ultimately the action has to be on the part of the state government, the police, and other agencies. Therefore, this is our humble request”, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said during the hearing of a plea on Wednesday.
The bench was irked over the "lackadaisical" approach of several states and UTs in implementing a 2025 judgment aimed at dismantling organised trafficking networks.
Justice Viswanathan said the retrieval of children in some cases proves the problem can be tackled, but it requires a level of political and administrative will which is lacking at present.
The verdict, delivered on April 15, 2025, had mandated several institutional reforms, including completion of trials in trafficking cases within six months on a day-to-day basis.
It had also directed strengthening of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and improving investigation standards.
Besides asking for setting up of state-level committees to monitor vulnerable trafficking hotspots, it had asked the authorities to treat missing children cases as trafficking unless proven otherwise.
Earlier, the bench had termed the compliance reports filed by a few states as "nothing but an eye wash."
On Wednesday, the bench noted that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab had still failed to file reports in the prescribed format.
When the home secretary of Madhya Pradesh offered an apology for the lapse, the bench granted a "final opportunity" but warned that continued failure would lead to states being officially branded as "defaulting".
The bench noted that at least 15 states are yet to constitute review committees mandated to identify and monitor trafficking-prone areas.
The matter will now be heard on April 29.
