Hi-tech hospital to come up in Dharwad

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/29/stories/2009062959180600.htm

BANGALORE: Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara (SDM) Education Society of Dharmasthala has decided to establish a super speciality hospital on 25 acres of land at Mummigatti village (on Dharwad-Belgaum Road) in Dharwad district with an investment of Rs. 125 crore.

The society runs 44 educational institutions in various parts of the State.

The society, headed by D. Veerendra Heggade, runs the SDM Dental Hospital and SDM Medical Hospital in Dharwad.

Sources in the Commerce and Industries Department told The Hindu that the State High Level Clearance Committee (SHLCC) meeting, chaired by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Wednesday, approved the society’s proposal.

The super speciality hospital would have a postgraduate centre, a research centre, and an administrative and academic building. It would provide employment to 700 people.

The SHLCC resolved to recommend the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) to allot 25 acres of land at Mummigatti.

The promoter has to establish rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge facilities and must conduct annual water audit. It has to obtain environment clearance from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and the Environment and Forest Department. It should also take all statutory and other necessary clearances, including those from the Central Government, and inform the progress in implementation of the project regularly to the Commence and Industries Department.

‘Hubli Law University will be operational soon’

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/24/stories/2009062460710400.htm

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

First copy: Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and KAT Chairman A.V. Sreenivasa Reddy at the release of Karnataka Services Law Journal in Bangalore on Tuesday.

BANGALORE: Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar on Tuesday said the Law University proposed at Hubli is expected to start in the first week of August.

Mr. Kumar was speaking at a function organised by the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) to release its journal titled Karnataka Services Law Journal. He hoped that the varsity at Hubli would earn international reputation. Earlier, releasing the journal, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said steps had been taken to shift the KAT premises from Indiranagar to Khanija Bhavan. He said the law university at Hubli would become operational soon.

He promised all help to the KAT in providing better infrastructure and facilities. He said he would ensure that all Government departments purchased the journal.

KAT Chairman A.V. Sreenivasa Reddy said that so far over 1.78 lakh cases had been filed in the tribunal of which 1.6 lakh had been decided. He said there are only 18,350 cases pending. KAT Member Manjula Devi said the journal had commenced publication in 1986 when the tribunal was established. It had, however, stopped publication in 1998 and it was only now that it was being revived.

She urged the Government to take steps to computerise the KAT offices and administration. Advocate-General Ashok Harnahalli, said Karnataka was one of the few states that had a journal dedicated to bring out judgments of the tribunal.

The Karnataka State Police Recruitment For Belgaum Division

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/24/stories/2009062456820300.htm

Belgaum: The Karnataka State Police have invited applications for the posts of police sub-inspector (320) and 40 women police sub-inspectors. Application forms are available at the Samudaya Bhavan at the Office of the Inspector-General of Police, Belgaum, till July 10, 2009. For details, visit: www.ksp.gov.in/psi09, said a press release. — Staff Correspondent

Green City project to give Belgaum a new look

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/24/stories/2009062453110300.htm

Belgaum: The Belgaum City Corporation (BCC), Belgaum Urban Development Authority (BUDA) and the Forest Department have jointly come up with project “Green City” with a view to change the face of the city.

The project, which aims at planting 50,000 different species of plants at a cost of Rs. 1.12 crore, has been conceived with the support of MLAs Abhay Kumar Patil, Sanjay Patil and Feroz Sait representing Belgaum South, Belgaum Rural and Belgaum North assembly constituencies, respectively.

The salient features of the project were presented to a select section of the Belgaum city at a seminar organised under the banner of Belgaum Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Patil complimented the Forest Department, BCC and BUDA for the project. But, he warned that it should not be another “vanamahotsava”, which only served the purpose of publicity.

He cited examples of certain villages where green cover was developed on the basis of participatory approach, involving residents. Consequentially, more than 70 per cent of the saplings planted had become huge trees.

Panchakshari Hiremath, landscape designer from Dharwad, disputed the claims of the Forest Department on its tree plantation programme.

He said: “If the claims of the Forest and Horticulture Departments on tree plantation programmes during last five to six decades are to be believed, then no space should have been left to plant even a single tree.”

However, he said the project was poised to change the face of Belgaum city if implemented and maintained in an effective manner.

Earlier, Deputy Conservator of Forest Girish Hosur highlighted the salient features of the project and said the average cost of each tree proposed to be planted would account for Rs. 224 for a maintenance period of three years.

Karnataka govt to take up 'Arunodaya' to tackle power crisis - Solar PV plants in Kolar, Belgaum and Raichur Districts.

Source: http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=130253

Bangalore June 17, 2009: To overcome the growing demand for supply of electricity, Karnataka Government has drawn up an ambitious plan to supply solar power in rural areas under 'Arunodaya' at an estimated cost of Rs 225 crore. According to Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) sources here, the firstever biggest Solar PV plants in the country would be established in Kolar, Belgaum and Raichur Districts.

Under demonstration project, the plants would be established in Yelesandra village in Kolar district, Itnal village in Chikkodi Taluk of Belgaum district and in Raichur district.
The Centre would provide a subsidy of Rs 12 per unit of the power produced against total cost of Rs 16, the sources said.

To begin with, two plants- one each at Kolar and Belgaum districts- would be launched by December this year and at Raichur in 2010.

The Solar PV plant of three MW each would help in bridging power demand-supply gap especially in rural areas and provide a fillip in avoiding Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and protection of environment.

Power thus produced would be supplied in villages through 11 KV lines and about 400 irrigation pump sets of ten horse power each could be powered besides irrigating about 2000 acres of land.
The plant, which would ensure three phase quality power to farmers, would also help growing sugarcane, groundnut, maize, wheat and horsegram.

The land required was about 15 acres. The government lands had been identified for the plants, the sources said.

The assured power was planned in such a way that it would be used only during sunny hours between 1030 hrs to 1630 hrs and it could be utilised for IP sets, flour mills, irrigation and agriculture, the sources added.

Industrial corridor: Chennai-Mumbai national highways via Bangalore, Davanagere, Hubli, Belgaum and Pune

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/industrial-corridor-19-firms-show-interest/361151/

Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), KPMG, Infrastructure Development Corporation Karnataka Ltd (iDeCK) and IDBI are among the 19 companies that have evinced interest in providing consultancy services to Karnataka on developing the proposed industrial corridors along National Highways 4 and 17 to attract investment and create employment opportunities for people in North Karnataka.

According to Murugesh Nirani, Karnataka’s minister for large and medium industries, the industrial corridors will be developed on the public-private partnership model.
Recently, the state government had invited an expression of interest from reputed consultancy firms to prepare detailed project report and advise the state government on the model to execute the new industrial corridor projects.

“Apart from these two Indian companies we have also received a proposal from an internationally-reputed foreign agency to participate in the project. We are evaluating their proposals and will soon finalise the bids,” Nirani told Business Standard.

The industrial corridors are planned along the Chennai-Mumbai national highways via Bangalore, Davanagere, Hubli, Belgaum and Pune. Cities falling on the National Highways NH-4 and NH-17 like Bangalore to Belgaum will be developed as a major corridor and Bangalore to Bidar on NH-17, Shimoga to Davanagere and Shimoga to Mangalore. It has been planned to create industrial townships in seven sectors like steel, cement, textile, automobile, food processing, oil & chemicals and fertiliser.

The minister said cement industries will be encouraged in Gulbarga, Bagalkot and Chitradurga, iron and steel industries in Bellary, Koppal and Tumkur. Automobile industries will be promoted in Belgaum, Hubli and Mysore. Meanwhile, Bangalore will be promoted further as a preferred destination for information technology and biotechnology, electronics and general engineering. He said, basic infrastructure will be upgraded in these cities to enable industry to progress. Star category industries will be provided facilities including residential townships and other infrastructure.

In addition, Nirani said centres of horticulture like Bagalkot, Bijapur, Belgaum, Shimoga districts could have food processing units.

A foundry zone will be developed in Belgaum. The government is in the process of identifying 500 acres on the outskirts of Belgaum for the proposed foundry park. Land acquisition is in progress, he said.

Nirani said the government will also complete the land acquisition process before holding the long-pending Global Investors Meet (GIM) in Bangalore in December.

The GIM will be held in December this year. The government is in the process of finalising the knowledge partner, event partner and media partner for the event.

CM proposes six more universities - Law university in Hubli

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_cm-proposes-six-more-universities_1265023
Bangalore: In a bid to accommodate the increasing rush of students to Karnataka and Bangalore for higher education and to attain high standards in education, chief minister BS Yedyurappa on Sunday said that six new universities -- Sankrit and Veda university in Bangalore, music and fine arts university in Mysore, agriculture and horticulture university in Raichur, law university in Hubli and new Davangere university in Davangere -- would be set up across the state, stressing on unconventional modes of education. The government is also planning to set up an ayurvedic and a polytechnic university soon.

He was speaking to the media after inaugurating the the Prajnana, the activity centre of Vidyarthi Shikskana Seva Trust in Nagarbhavi. "To better the education system and to make it affordable to all, the state will reduce the interest rate to six per cent on education loans up to Rs5 lakh,'' he said adding that this would attract more students to Karnataka.

The education of Karnataka is reaching new heights, said National Institute of Advanced Studies director and Rajya Sabha member Dr K Kasturirangan. He said that the Karnataka Education Portal was laudable. Forty institutions and over 6.5 lakh students have visited the portal till date, while over 10,000 students have interacted through it.