K'taka CEO directs district authorities to check voter survey by private agencies
Bengaluru, Dec 16: With reports about private agencies conducting door-to-door survey of voters even after the alleged electoral data theft scam coming to light, the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka Manoj Kumar Meena on Friday directed the district election officers not to allow such activities by private agencies.
In a statement, Meena said there were some media reports that in a few districts some private agencies visited houses and procured personal information of the voters either manually or through IT applications.
"In this regard, the Election Commission of India has directed all District Election Officers to take adequate steps to ensure that any potential capture of data by any private agency by way of house to house survey, use of misleading I-cards, any attempt of voter data collection either by a private entity or otherwise and any authentication/NoC by DEOs/EROs to any private entity is strictly prohibited," the order said.
The order came at a time when the director and executive of a private entity Chilume Educational, Cultural and Rural Development Institute (Chilume Trust) were arrested on charges of issuing booth-level officers card to their employees in an unauthorised way.
According to the government authorities, only the retired government employees should be hired by the government agency as the Booth-level Officers (BLO) and no one else. Anyone else becoming BLO is impersonation, they added.
The Congress has alleged that the Chilume Trust was stealing voter data and was involved in the addition and deletion of voters from the electoral roll.
Based on the charges, the Election Commission has directed the scrutiny of electoral rolls in three Assembly constituencies of Bengaluru and suspension of two Indian Administrative Service officers.
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Karnataka fast-tracks investment approvals, cuts red tape across key clearances: Minister Patil
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister M B Patil on Saturday said the state government has fast-tracked approvals for investment projects and taken measures to cut red tape.
He said that since 2022, Karnataka has approved 2,028 projects worth Rs 5.11 lakh crore, which could create 7.16 lakh jobs.
Of these, Rs 69,564 crore has already been realised, generating 1.06 lakh jobs, he added.
“Karnataka fast-tracks approvals, cuts red tape,” the Minister for Large & Medium Industries said.
“Clear results of our government’s push to speed up approval processes are now evident. Not only have investment agreements been secured, but effective implementation is also underway,” he said in a post on X.
He added that simplified and swift approval processes are boosting investor confidence and providing greater impetus to industrial growth across the state.
“Karnataka’s investment-friendly environment is further strengthened by its culture of ease of doing business,” he said.
Noting that Karnataka is fast-tracking approvals and aligning departments and districts for on-ground delivery, the minister said: “We have overhauled 18 key approvals, cutting land use change clearance time from 120 to 45 days, fire NOC from 60 to 21 days, factory plan approvals from 30 to 14 days, and electrical approvals to just 10 days.”
In a competitive landscape, Karnataka is acting decisively to ensure faster decisions, fewer delays, and a truly pro-industry ecosystem, he added.
