Karnataka cabinet clears projects worth Rs 3,400 cr, Bengaluru division gets major share
Chikkaballapura, Jul 2 (PTI): The Karnataka cabinet, in a meeting held atop the Nandi Hills here, on Wednesday approved development projects worth Rs 3,400 crores, of which Rs 2,050 crores were earmarked for districts falling under Bengaluru division alone, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.
A key decision taken at the meeting was to rename Bangalore City University as Dr Manmohan Singh Bengaluru City University, in honour of the former Prime Minister, as proposed in the Budget.
The cabinet meeting was held atop the Nandi Hills here under Bengaluru division, as per the government's decision to hold such meetings in all the four revenue divisions of the state.
"We discussed and took decisions on 90 per cent of the subjects related to the Bengaluru division in this cabinet meeting. Projects or development works worth Rs 3,400 crores were approved, and out of this Rs 2,050 crores were for Bengaluru division alone," Siddaramaiah told reporters after the meeting.
Subjects related to education, health, drinking water, irrigation, lake filling projects were mainly deliberated and cleared by the cabinet, he added.
Deputy CM D K Shivakumar announced the formation of a Cabinet Sub-Committee under the chairmanship of Law Minister H K Patil to review the progress of the probe into illegal mining, recommend further steps to be taken, and submit a report to the government in a month's time.
Referring to Yettinahole project, the CM clarified it is primarily a drinking water project, and filling the lakes is secondary. The cabinet decided to first complete the project to provide drinking water to needy areas of Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, and Hassan districts in two years.
Noting that drinking water will be provided to 75 lakh people in 9 districts under this project, he said, out of 24.1 TMC of water, 14 TMC is required for drinking water.
A revised estimate of Rs 23,251 crores has been made for the Yettinahole Project, of which Rs 17,147 crores have been spent so far, Siddaramaiah further said, while overall about Rs 8,000 crore is required for completing the remaining project work, about Rs 6,000 crore is remaining after spending.
"The cost has increased due to land acquisition. The cabinet discussed this, and the matter (on providing remaining funds) will be brought before the next cabinet through the Finance department," he added.
The cabinet has also given its nod for the establishment of 31 residential schools at an outlay of Rs 1125.25 crores for the educational advancement of children of registered workers of the Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.
It has also been decided to upgrade 8 Primary health care (PHC) in new taluks into Community Health Centres (CHCs) at an estimated cost of Rs 46 crore, the CM said.
Approval has been given to establish a high-tech flower market of international standards at a cost of Rs 141.5 crore by APMC in Chikkaballapur.
Construction of two hostels in Bangalore at a cost of Rs 10 crore to provide training including accommodation for candidates from backward classes for competitive exams like IAS and IPS was approved.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
