Karnataka coalition ministry to start working from Monday
Bengaluru, June 9: The fledgling JD-S-Congress coalition government in Karnataka would start working from Monday, as most of the cabinet ministers went to their constituencies for the week-end, said an official on Saturday.
"As government offices are closed on second Saturday and the support staff were also on leave at the state secretariat here, the 25 new cabinet ministers will work from Monday," the senior official told IANS, preferring anonymity.
Of the 25 ministers, 14 are from Congress and 9 from Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and one each from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha (KPJP), which are allies of both the coalition partners.
Though all the cabinet ministers took oath on Wednesday, portfolios were allocated on Friday night, as many of them were vying for high-profile posts between the alliance partners.
"As portfolio allocation got delayed by 2 days and the ministers were unaware of them till Friday night, they decided to assume charge on Monday when offices re-open after the weekend break," said the official.
As per the agreement between the alliance partners, the cabinet posts and portfolios are shared in the ratio of 21:11, with the Congress getting 21, including the Deputy Chief Minister rank, as it has 78 legislators in the hung assembly, and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-) 11, including Chief Minister rank, as it has 36 lawmakers.
JD-S leader H.D. Kumaraswamy and Congress state unit president G. Parameshwara were sworn-in as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister on May 23.
The Congress has six more cabinet berths and the JD-S one more to fill in the 34-member ministry, which is 15 per cent of the 225-member assembly strength.
In a related development, Kumaraswamy advised his party ministers G.T. Devegowda and C.S. Puttaraju to work with the portfolios they were allocated than seeking change.
Devegowda, who studied only up to 8th standard, has been allocated Higher Education and Puttaraju Minior Irrigation though he wanted Transport.
"Even I have studied only up to degree (B.Sc). Yet, I am the Chief Minister. It is not education qualification or which portfolio that matters. All posts give same opportunity to work and serve the people. Is there a better department than Higher Education and Minor Irrigation to work?" Kumaraswamy told reporters here later.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
