Process of appointing new Lokayukta is in final stage: CM Bommai
Mysuru/Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said the process of appointing a new Lokayukta for the state is at final stage and it will be completed at the earliest.
The Chief Minister's statement came a day after the Karnataka High Court indicated that the process of appointment of the Lokayukta was under active consideration of the state government.
"According to me the process (of appointment of Lokayukta) is at its final stage, it will be done at the earliest, it won't take many days...," Bommai told reporters in Mysuru in response to a question.
The Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, who is part of the panel along with the Chief Minister, Speaker of the Assembly, Chairman of the Legislative Council and the leaders of the opposition in both the Houses which appoints the Lokayukta, gave the indication while hearing a PIL on Tuesday seeking the appointment at the earliest.
The petition, filed by advocate Umapathi S seeking direction to the State to appoint the Lokayukta at the earliest, pointed out that the post has been vacant since January 2022.
Justice P Vishwanath Shetty had stepped down as the head of Karnataka Lokayukta in January, after five years of service. The division bench of the High Court headed by the Chief Justice posted the matter for hearing again after 10 days.
The court said that since the matter was under consideration, the PIL may be disposed of.
But the petitioner-advocate requested for keeping it pending till the appointment was made citing earlier alleged instances where the court order was not followed by the government.
The petition said: due to non-appointment of Lokayukta, the complaints and grievances are pending for disposal for several years and fresh complaints and grievances keep on accumulating to the pending list of grievances and complaints.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
