Siddaramaiah asks CM Basavaraj Bommai to follow Tamil Nadu, cut prices of both petrol and diesel
Bengaluru, Aug 13: Following neighbouring Tamil Nadu government's move to cut tax on petrol by Rs three per litre, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka assembly Siddaramaiah on Friday urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to cut the price of both petrol and diesel in the state.
"Tamil Nadu has cut the petrol price by Rs 3 helping lakhs of common man.
I urge CM of Karnataka Shri Basavaraj Bommai to follow the same and cut the price of both Petrol and Diesel in Karnataka," Siddaramaiah tweeted.
Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, presenting his maiden budget to the Assembly on Friday said the government has decided to cut tax on petrol by Rs three per litre.
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Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah had asked Bommai to clarify his government's stand with respect to the Mekedatu project, accusing the BJP of speaking on contradicting lines.
"Tamil Nadu BJP is opposing Mekedatu and C T Ravi (Karnataka BJP MLA and party's national General Secretary incharge of Tamil Nadu) is supporting them. Why this contradiction?" the Congress leader asked in a tweet.
Further stating that Congress will never compromise or politicize on land, water and language issues, Siddaramaiah said, "We are firm on our decision irrespective of whether we are in power or not. The CM of Karnataka should take opposition parties into confidence and ask his party members to support Karnataka." Mekedatu is a multipurpose (drinking and power) project, which involves building a balancing reservoir, near Kanakapura in Ramanagara district. Tamil Nadu is against the project and is of the opinion that it is against its interest.
The project once completed is aimed at ensuring drinking water to Bengaluru and neighbouring areas (4.75 TMC) and also can generate 400 MW power, and the estimated cost of the project is Rs 9,000 crore.
Tamil Nadu has cut the petrol price by Rs. 3 helping lakhs of common man.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) August 13, 2021
I urge @CMofKarnataka Shri @BSBommai to follow the same & cut the price of both Petrol & Diesel in Karnataka.#PetrolDieselPrice pic.twitter.com/wxE3GOWBmy
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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.”
