Siddaramaiah's dinner meet spurs cabinet reshuffle talk; CM asks whether it is an offence
Bengaluru (PTI): With his scheduled dinner meet for cabinet colleagues here on Monday setting off wild speculations of a reshuffle of ministers, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asked whether such a gathering was an offence.
The meeting also comes in the wake of speculations about a change of guard in the state when the Congress government reaches the halfway mark of its five-year term in November, which is being referred to by some as "November revolution".
"Should we not meet? I can't understand. Listening to the BJP, you (media) have made our meeting over dinner an offence. Why are you asking then? We keep meeting always," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question.
According to party sources, Siddaramaiah and his camp are pushing for a cabinet reshuffle.
They said, any move by the Chief Minister to effect a cabinet reshuffle, as the government is about to complete 2.5 years in office, will be widely seen as a message that he is at the helm and will continue to do so. The action may come across as a setback for Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, who is known to be waiting to lay claim to the chief minister’s chair.
Shivakumar had on Saturday played down speculations about the cabinet reshuffle in the state, calling it a "rumour" in the media.
Preparations for upcoming taluk and zilla panchayat, also urban local body polls are likely to be discussed during the dinner meeting, party sources said.
The CM may also want to discuss fighting corruption allegations, especially following the recent letter from the Karnataka State Contractors Association (KSCA) claiming that the quantum of commission or kickbacks, had “doubled” under the Congress government.
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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.
