Integrated industrial township to be developed in 970 acres near KGF
Bengaluru, Sep 16: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said his government will ensure the development of an integrated industrial township in over 970 acres of land in Kolar district, aimed at prompting industries in the region to provide jobs for locals.
The Chief Minister was responding to a question raised by KGF (Kolar Gold Fields) MLA Roopakala M in the legislative assembly during the question hour regarding developing an industrial township in the land the government has taken back from Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and alleged delay in transfer of land to Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) for the purpose.
"There is a proposal to transfer BEML land from Revenue to the Industries Department and to develop it through KIADB. It is difficult to get land around Bengaluru and if we have to acquire land it is costly and those who set up industries will have to bear it. Also the region is deprived of industries despite being so close to Bengaluru."
Pointing out that after the Kolar Gold Field mines stopped functioning there are employment issues in the region, he said, "considering all these factors, we will ensure the land is transferred and is developed into an industrial township. I have already said in the budget that industrial townships will be developed. So an integrated industrial township will be developed there."
Earlier raising the issue, Roopakala lamented that out of about 1,870 acres of land given to BEML, the state government since the last three years is in the process of taking back about 970 acres of remaining unused land, and asked "what should the people of my constituency do? What's their fate?"
Questioning the delay and why the government was not acting swiftly, she said the place was not even 100 km away from Bengaluru and has a large number of working class population.
Replying to her, Medium and Large Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani said, the land has to be transferred from Revenue to Industries department.
"We have sent several communications to the Revenue Department through KIADB, but they have not transferred it yet. We have brought it to the notice of both the Revenue Minister and Chief Minister, and as soon as they transfer, we will start the work on the industrial township," he said.
Intervening, Senior Congress MLA and former Industries Minister R V Deshpande said, Industries and Revenue are sister departments in the government and should sort out the issue with proper coordination in the interest of the people, setting up of industries and to create jobs. He urged the Chief Minister to also intervene.
According to the Minister's written reply, state government had given about 1,870 acres of land to BEML to set up a factory at a village in Robertsonpet hobli of KGF taluk in Kolar district, and out of this the Kolar Deputy Commissioner had on November 12, 2020 issued an order for Revenue department to take back about 971 acres of remaining unused land, as per prescribed norms.
It also said that the Industries department has written letters to the Revenue department seeking to transfer the land to KIADB to develop industrial townships there in March, August and December 2021, and the land has still not been allotted to KIADB.
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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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