Is BJP scared of Eknath Shinde?: Siddaramaiah slams Bommai over Maharashtra border row
Bengaluru: With the Maharastra Border row once again in the limelight ahead of the crucial Karnataka Assembly polls, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah slammed the Maharashtra government over their move to provide health insurance for the people in 865 border villages of Karnataka.
The response of Siddaramaiah comes in the wake of the Maharashtra government’s announcement of providing health insurance to the border villages of Karnataka that it made on April 4.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, Siddaramaiah called the move “obnoxious” and called on the Maharashtra government to immediately withdraw the order.
“Maharashtra government's order, to implement their health insurance scheme in 865 border villages of Karnataka, is obnoxious. This is despite opposition from Karnataka & we will not tolerate this. We demand them to immediately withdraw the notification.” Siddaramaiah added in the tweet.
In another tweet, the former Chief Minister also questioned the stance of CM Basavaraj Bommai and asked if he and his party were scared of Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde.
“What is @BSBommai doing about this? Why have not they not been able to oppose this move of Maharashtra despite BJP being party of the government? Is BJP scared of @mieknathshinde?” he added.
CM Basavaraj Bommai also responded to the Maharashtra government’s move and threatened the Maha government with retaliation from Karnataka if the order was not immediately withdrawn.
Maharashtra government's order, to implement their health insurance scheme in 865 border villages of Karnataka, is obnoxious.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 5, 2023
This is despite opposition from Karnataka & we will not tolerate this. We demand them to immediately withdraw the notification.#ಗಡಿವಿವಾದ pic.twitter.com/aVTTdd941E
What is @BSBommai doing about this?
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 5, 2023
Why have not they not been able to oppose this move of Maharashtra despite BJP being party of the government?
Is BJP scared of @mieknathshinde?#ಗಡಿವಿವಾದ
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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.”
