CM Kumaraswamy lays foundation stone for building houses
Rehabilitation for Kodagu distressed people
Targets to construct 55 houses per month
#840 families to get houses
#Rs 9.85 lakh for each house
Madikeri, December 7: Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwar laid foundation stone for constructing houses to rehabilitate the affected people in Kodagu natural disaster, at Jambur village in Somwarpet taluk in the district on Friday.
The district administration has organized the foundation laying programme at Jambur village. After laying the foundation, CM Kumaraswamy said that “There were plenty of expectations from the people. But though it was not possible to fulfill all the expectations, the government has honestly responded to the problem.
The Chief Minister’s Fund has Rs 202.23 crore including Rs 100 crore from State Government Employees Association and this amount would be spent for the rehabilitation work. In order to help the affected people, people of the state have responded and cooperated in their own way, he said while thanking all of them.
Keeping aside the NDRF and SDRF norms, the government has given compensation up to Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 for those who lost household things.
In order to construct model houses for the first time in the country, the government has decided to spend Rs 10 lakh for each house, he said.
Out of Rs 546 crore given by the central government, the state government has disbursed the amount to 8 districts including Kodagu which were affected in the natural disaster. As declared earlier, the government has established Kodagu Reconstruction Authority. In the beginning, it was announced to give Rs 100 crore. So, the government has released Rs 85 crore for various departments to take up the relief works, he said.
The government has already waived off loans up to Rs 2 lakh from nationalized banks and Rs 1 lakh in cooperative banks. But the farmers should not dishearten for any problems, he appealed.
The government employees have appealed to cancel the new pension scheme and reintroduce the old pension scheme. He would respect their demand. A committee would be constituted to look into the pros and cons of this demand and placed before the Cabinet to take a decision, he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Dr. G. Parameshwar said that the government would give all support for the development of Kodagu. There was no need to worry about it. Already, the government has constituted Kodagu Reconstruction Authority for the development and the centre has to release more funds, he added.
Housing Minister UT Khader said that the government was always ready to wipe the tears of Kodagu people. With a good intention of constructing good houses, the government was spending Rs 9.85 lakh for each house and it was targeted to construct 55 houses in one month, he added.
District Minister S.R. Mahesh said that the government has taken all steps for reconstruction of Kodagu district.
Lok Sabha Member Pratap Simha said that Rs 546 crore released by the centre was distributed to affected places. Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murthy would give Rs 25 crore for constructing houses and another organization has joined its hands with the government to construct houses, he said.
Rs 100 cr cheque given
State Government Employees Association president H.K. Ramu presented a cheque of Rs 100 crore from the association to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. A documentary of natural disaster prepared by the district administration was screened on the occasion. Symbolically, house selection letter was given to a beneficiary.
MLA MP Appachu Ranjan presided over the programme in which MLAs KG Bopaiah, Sunil Subramani, Veena Achaiah, SL Boje Gowda, V. Anbukumar, Mysuru Zone IGP Sharath Chandra, Suman D. Pannekar, and others were present.
Deputy Commissioner PI Srividya welcomed the gathering, while additional deputy commissioner Jagadeesh proposed vote of thanks. Madapura school students sung state anthem on the occasion.
Benefits to be given to affected people?
The government has taken various measures to rehabilitate the affected people and released funds. For temporary arrangements, the government has been giving Rs 10,000 rent per month for those who lost houses in the incident. Till the new houses are constructed, the government would give the house rent. For those who want to construct houses in their own land, the government would give Rs 15 lakh, said CM Kumaraswamy.
The Kodagu Reconstruction Authority has prepared various programmes for the rehabilitation of people. The government has taken all steps to ensure that Kodagu will come back to its previous condition. The entire amount donated to the Kodagu Rehabilitation Funds would be utilized for Kodagu only and it has been utilizing the funds effectively, he said.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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