Finish BBMP poll process by May 30: HC, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike,BBMP poll, BBMP Election 2015

Finish BBMP poll process by May 30: HC

BENGALURU: The Karnataka high court on Monday directed the state government as well as the State Election Commission (SEC) to complete the process of election to the BBMP by May 30.

Justice B V Nagarathna issued the directive while allowing petitions filed by C K Ramamurthy and others, sitting corporators and voters. She directed the state government to fix the ward-wise reservation list by applying rotation on or before April 13.

"If the state fails to provide the list, the SEC can proceed with the calendar of events with the existing reservation list," the judge said.

Justice B V Nagarathna rejected the state government's contention for deferring the election which included the proposal to divide the BBMP. "Bifurcation or trifurcation cannot be done by a stroke of the pen, but must follow the prescribed procedure envisaged under Section 4 of the KMC Act. It is a time-consuming exercise, it has to follow the prescribed legal procedure. By April 22 (when the term of the existing BBMP council expires), the procedure cannot be completed." Elections cannot be postponed because there is an intention to divide the BBMP, she observed.

The judge noted that if the decision to divide the BBMP is not taken to its logical conclusion, the state has to be directed to carry out the delimitation process by 2020. Reconstitution of the BBMP is a must before undertaking any exercise to reduce/divide its area.

"The existence of a civic body... is not only a constitutional requirement but also a necessity for local governance. There cannot be a vacuum as far as municipal governance is concerned," the judge noted.

The court took the State Election Commission to task for failing to approach the court in a matter wherein it has a constitutional obligation.

Govt to go in appeal

Hours after the high court order, the state government said it would soon file an appeal requesting the court to give permission to postpone the polls.

"The cabinet has already taken a decision to trifurcate the BBMP which means the present structure will cease to exist after its term gets over April-end. We will explain the importance of the need of BBMP restructuring before going to civic polls. Even otherwise, it is difficult to hold elections in the term set by the court," a senior minister told TOI.

Sources in the urban development department said a notification on BBMP trifurcation will be out soon.

src:timesofindia

Govt decides to divide BBMP, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike Election,BBMP Election 2015

Govt decides to divide BBMP (Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike)

The State Cabinet on Thursday decided to trifurcate Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike. The process to finalise the draft report on delimitation of new wards will be taken up soon, the State government said. According to Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who is also in-charge of Bengaluru urban district, the decision will lead to postponement of BBMP polls by at least three to four months.

The minister said: “We cannot delay the elections for long. Maybe it will be postponed by three to four months. An administrator will have to be appointed till the elections are held.”

The government is under pressure to inform the Karnataka High Court on preparations in place to hold BBMP council elections. The council’s term will end on April 22. Two corporators have approached the court seeking direction to the government to hold elections on time.

A committee headed by B S Patil, constituted to give recommendations regarding splitting the BBMP, has submitted its second interim report.

The panel has, however, favoured having smaller boroughs like those in London. Sources said no new areas will be added during the trifurcation process. The jurisdiction of three new corporations will be decided by the Urban Development Department (UDD).

Delhi example

Interestingly, the State government took a cue from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) which was trifurcated in 2012. But the MCD may soon be unified again to extricate it from financial troubles.  Asked when the government would notify the delimitation of wards and reservation of wards, Reddy said it would be done soon after a gazette notification is issued on trifurcation of the civic body.

Sources said the move to supersede BBMP was also discussed by the State Cabinet. The UDD had issued a show cause notice to BBMP seeking an explanation on financial irregularities as pointed out by a committee headed by an IAS officer, Rajendra Kumar Kataria. Show cause notices have been issued to Mayor N Shanthakumari and corporators to which they have to reply before March 30. Sources said that the State government will wait for the reply before deciding on the next step.

CM presents Karnataka State Budget 2015-16, Karnataka Budget 2015-16, Karnataka State budget,Siddaramaiah present state budget

CM presents Karnataka State Budget 2015-16

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds Finance portfolio presented the State budget for 2015-16. This is the 10th budget by Mr. Siddaramaiah and third after becoming the Chief Minister.

Speaking at the session, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah talks about communal harmony and upliftment of backward classes. He mentioned that the SC/ST and other backward classes are the priorities of the government.

Here are some pointers from the Chief Minister’s Budget speech:

* CM listed out some policies started out by the State Government:

* State GDP growth estimated at 7%

* Poems by Basavanna and Kuvempu find their way in the CM’s Budget speech

* Five agricultural produce markets to be set up in State at Bidar, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada

* Horticulture college to be established at Haveri district

* Loans taken for failed bore-wells will be waived

* New agricultural science campus to be established at Shivamogga

* Drip irrigation for sugarcane field

* No FMD (foot and mouth disease) or animal diseases reported this year. The schemes implemented for the purpose were successful

* Brindavan Garden at KRS will be upgraded to world class tourist place

* New helpline for animal and veterinary-related services.

* Primary and Secondary Education gets lion's share of Rs. 16,204 crore in the 2015-2016 budget

* Fisheries Department - PPP, Information Centres at 10 Districts, Rs. 297 Crores Sanctioned

* Government school children will finally be able to wear socks and shoes. Rs. 120 crores allotted for that.

* 200 government schools & 100 PU colleges to be declared Green power schools. Solar electric equipment to be installed

* Committee to be set up to rope CSR funds to improve infrastructure in government schools

* 1,000 more schools under Tele-Education Programme with IIM-B

* Infrastructure improvements in govt B.Ed colleges

* Transgender policy to be implemented. Rs. 20,000 will be given to 1,000 transgenders

* Chair to be set up at University of Mysore to take up research on writer U.R. Ananthamurthy

* Honorarium of anganwadi workers to be enhanced by Rs. 500 and assistants by Rs. 250 per month

* To protect termination of girlchild during pregnancy all ultrasound scanning centres to be monitored realtime using onlinetech

* Phone Doctor, 104 Helpline, Dental Helpline and many other services - Rs. 6,107 Crore Sanctioned for various schemes

* E-hospital software will be implemented in all Government Hospitals to document and utilise patient information

* Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has completed his Budget speech. He thanked the Speaker and all the Members of the Assembly

src:thehindu

TDP retains Tirupati assembly seat,Bye Election result 2015, Tirupati assembly seat by election, Tirupati assembly by poll

TDP retains Tirupati assembly seat

Hyderabad, (IANS) The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has retained the Tirupati assembly seat in Andhra Pradesh. M. Suguna of the ruling party won the by-election, defeating her nearest rival R. Sreedevi of the Congress party by over 1.16 lakh votes.

Read more: TDP retains Tirupati assembly seat,Bye Election result 2015, Tirupati assembly seat by election,...

BBMP Election: After win Delhi election, AAP sets eye on BBMP poll,BBMP Election,AAP eye on BBMP polls

BBMP Election: After win Delhi election, AAP sets eye on BBMP poll

Bengaluru: From Delhi to Bengaluru. Having conquered the capital, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has cast its eye on Bengaluru.

BBMP elections are due in April, and though there's speculation the Congress government might postpone polls citing bifurcation of the civic body, the Karnataka unit of AAP is gearing up for a contest. "There are a lot of similarities between Delhi and Bengaluru. It's been rendered an orphan city by the BJP and Congress, and people need an alternative. AAP is visible in Bengaluru and my party will contest all the seats,'' AAP's V Balakrishnan, who contested from Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat in 2014, said.

From providing logistical support in the 2013 Delhi assembly polls to now, the Karnataka unit is aware the capital's bulldozing mandate cannot be replicated everywhere and in every election. "It cannot be a copy-paste job without any hard work, which Team Delhi put in. The results are a celebration of democracy -evolving from Raja to Praja -- where it's the will of the people," AAP's national executive member Prithvi Reddy said.

The party had kept a low profile after the 2014 Lok Sabha poll, when its candidates in all 28 constituencies had lost their deposits. The AAP vote-share was 0.08% -- equivalent to the NOTA (none of the above) share. Reddy attributes the party's drubbing in Karnataka to a lack of wherewithal. "We grew at a speed we couldn't manage,'' he added.

Since then, AAP has confined itself to taking up civic and civil issues -- from garbage clearance to filing RTIs to protests against ruling party MLAs taking law into their hands. Routing the Congress and BJP in New Delhi seems to have given a new confidence to AAP which now sees itself as "an alternative and not a substitute'' to traditional political outfits.

"AAP will not be built by membership. The attempt is to do so booth-wise by solving local problems,'' Reddy, who also heads the party's Mission Vistara (expansion) said.

POLL TALK
The Delhi poll results are on expected lines. The results have proved there's no Modi wave. BJP was made to bite the dust despite having a government at the Centre. The results will not have any bearing on Congress plans to strengthen the party.
Siddaramaiah | chief minister
We have to introspect. But the outcome has nothing to do with the popularity of PM Narendra Modi. Though the number of seats has reduced, the vote-share has remained intact, compared to the last elections. The Congress has been completely washed out.
Jagadish Shettar | opposition leader, Karnataka legislative assembly
The Delhi election results signals a stark failure of the BJP's strategy. But I don't think making Kiran Bedi CM candidate at the eleventh hour was the only reason for the party's defeat. If that was the case, AAP wouldn't have had a landslide victory. The margin of victory clearly reflects there were multiple reasons for the BJP's defeat.
CT Ravi | BJP MLA

 src:timesofindia