SC order on quota: State to seek six-month extension

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, JUNE 8. The State Cabinet today decided to file an appeal in the Supreme Court seeking an extension of six months for implementation of its judgment on the reservation in promotion order.

The Minister of State for Information, Prof. B.K. Chandrasekhar, who briefed presspersons about the Cabinet meeting, said that a decision was also taken to publish a provisional reservation in promotion list in respect of engineers in the Irrigation and Public Works departments.

It is learnt that the SC/ST Employees' Association has also filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the reservation in promotion order.

Prof. Chandrasekhar said that the adjourned budget session of the State Legislature would resume from July 16 and the Houses would meet till the end of the first week of August. Important bills, including those related to Finance, Agriculture and Cooperation, would be introduced in the session.

The Bill to amend the Karnataka Universities Act, now being considered by a Joint Select Committee, would also be introduced in the session. The Bill, introduced in the budget session, had come in for quite a lot of criticism, following which it was referred to the committee.

Prof. Chandrasekhar said the Cabinet had decided to take steps to streamline the administration of backward class and minorities hostels. As a first step, it had decided to recruit supervisory staff directly on the basis of merit. The lack of adequately qualified staff to administer these hostels had resulted in their neglect, and the students staying in them were put to a lot of inconvenience.

The process of recruitment had already started and applications had been called for from qualified candidates. In fact, the decision had already been taken and the Cabinet today ratified the decision.

Prof. Chandrasekhar said that the Cabinet had decided to allocate 22 acres of land in Varthur to the Reddy Jana Sangh for the establishment of a super-speciality hospital. The land, in Survey Nos. 26 and 27, would be allotted at the rate of Rs. 1.60 lakhs an acre.

The Cabinet also sanctioned Rs. 6.06 crores for the provision of drinking water facilities in 38 villages in Koppal taluk. The schemes would be executed by the Karnataka Land Army Corporation.

He said the Social Welfare Department had drawn up a massive programme to construct 300 hostels in the State. The HUDCO had already sanctioned Rs. 27 crores for the construction of 100 hostels in the first phase.

The Cabinet also approved the plan to set up 34 rehabilitation centres for those displaced by the third stage of the Upper Krishna Project at an estimated cost of Rs. 12 crores. The work would be executed by the National Projects Construction Corporation Ltd. and would be completed in 11 months.

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Section  : Southern States
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