Karnataka: Three rebel MLAs move Supreme Court questioning their disqualification by Speaker
Bengaluru: Three of the 17 MLAs who were disqualified from the Karnataka Assembly by Speaker Ramesh Kumar till the end of the current term of the assembly have moved to Supreme Court to seek its interference.
MLA Ramesh Jarakiholi, Mahesh Kumatalli and Independent candidate Shankar have questioned the speaker’s decision in the Supreme Court through an application.
17 MLAs were disqualified by Speaker Ramesh Kumar following whip issued by their respective parties after they resigned from the assembly leading to the collapse of Cong-JD(S) coalition government.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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to axe trees, the Additional Solicitor General of India (on behalf of the Centre), submitted that the state has rightly withdrawn the notification as it was issued without consulting the Centre.
ALSO READ: BJP state chief Vijayendra accuses Cong govt of corruption, Shivakumar hits back
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.”
