Ex-Congress MLA Nandihalli Halappa, noted ophthalmologist Appaji Gowda join BJP
Bengaluru (PTI): Former Congress MLA Nandihalli Halappa and noted ophthalmologist Dr Appaji Gowda, who is aspiring for a ticket to contest the upcoming election from Kanakapura constituency against Congress state president D K Shivakumar, joined the BJP on Tuesday.
Welcoming their entry into the BJP, state unit president Nalin Kumar Kateel said the party got a mighty support in the newly carved Vijayanagara district with the arrival of Halappa.
Speaking about Gowda, who is also a former Vokkaliga Sangha president, Kateel said the party will be immensely benefited in the old Mysuru region.
According to BJP sources, Halappa had started his political career from Congress and became an MLA from Hadagali constituency in Vijayanagara district. P T Parameshwara Naik of the Congress was elected as MLA from the constituency in 2018 assembly election. Halappa is keen on contesting on the BJP ticket from Hadagali.
Speaking to reporters after joining the ruling party, Gowda said times have changed now and he has the confidence to contest against Shivakumar.
"Once upon a time, Congress was all over the country, which has changed now. We will present the works and achievements of the BJP before the electorate. They will decide," Gowda said.
He added that the idea behind contesting from the constituency was to "bring the people of Kanakapura to the mainstream."
Voting for the state assembly polls will be held on May 10 and counting of votes is scheduled for May 13. PTI GMS GMS
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Suburban rail project: HC halts axing of 368 trees at Bengaluru Cantonment
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has ordered that no trees should be cut or damaged on over eight acres of land near Cantonment Railway Station, where a suburban rail project has been proposed, The New Indian Express reported on Thursday.
The order was reportedly issued by a division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Poonacha after hearing a PIL filed by former MLA AT Ramaswamy and three others. Notices were issued to the state government, central government, Karnataka Biodiversity Board and the tree officer.
Countering the apprehension expressed by the counsel for petitioners over the move to axe trees, the Additional Solicitor General of India (on behalf of the Centre), submitted that the state has rightly withdrawn the notification as it was issued without consulting the Centre.
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Also, the petition is premature as the application has been made to the tree officer seeking permission to cut trees for the suburban rail project on the land in question, he said.
The petitioners reportedly said the land is an old green space with 371 large trees and forms part of the Cantonment Railway Station area. They argued that a public notice was issued in April inviting objections to the plan to remove 368 trees for the suburban rail project.
The notice stated that the commercial development project will come up on the land measuring 34,856 sq mts, which has been leased to a private company.
They also pointed out that the state government had earlier decided to declare the area a biodiversity heritage site, but the notification was withdrawn in December without explanation.
They termed the decision atrocious and the reasons given absurd. The petitioners alleged that, “It is very clear that all is not well with the state, which has taken a retrograde decision, though it is a matter of grave concern, which will have an adverse impact on Bengaluru’s environment.”
