Nandi Hills, 2 July

The Karnataka cabinet, in a meeting held atop the Nandi Hills here, on Wednesday approved development projects worth Rs 3,400 crores, of which Rs 2,050 crores were earmarked for Bengaluru alone, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.

The Cabinet renamed Bangalore City University as Dr Manmohan Singh Bengaluru City University, in honour of the former prime minister.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced the formation of a Cabinet Sub-Committee under Law Minister HK Patil to review the progress of the probe into illegal mining.

Referring to Yettinahole project, Siddaramaiah clarified it is a drinking water project, and filling the lakes is secondary. The Cabinet decided to first complete the project to provide drinking water to Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, and Hassan districts in two years.

A revised estimate of Rs 23,251 crore was made for the project, of which Rs 17,147 crores have been spent so far, Siddaramaiah said, while Rs 8,000 crore is required for completing the remaining work.

Construction of two hostels in Bengaluru at Rs 10 crore to provide training including accommodation for candidates from backward classes for IAS and IPS exam was approved.

The Cabinet also cleared the renaming of Bengaluru Rural district as Bengaluru North and resolved to seek a No Objection Certificate from the Union Home Ministry to rename Bagepalli taluk in Chikkaballapur as Bhagyanagara.

Shivakumar announced a Rs 237 crore project to supply treated water to 164 tanks in Shidlaghatta and Chintamani taluks using water from Hebbal-Nagavara Valley. A new Rs 36 crore tank in Chintamani and administrative approval for a Rs 103 crore restoration of Kempegowda’s fort in Magadi were also approved.

The Cabinet also sanctioned a Rs 141 crore hi-tech flower market in Chikkaballapur and Rs 10 crore to upgrade the International Flower Auction Board in Bengaluru, benefiting flower growers across the region. Additionally, Rs 123.5 crore was approved for Phase 2 development of Bengaluru North University campus near Amaravathi village.

Other key decisions include:

•           Rs 1,125.25 for 31 new residential schools under the Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society.

•           Rs 40 crore and Rs 20 crore to upgrade boys’ and girls’ colleges in Kolar.

•           Rs 123 crore for the Bengaluru North campus in Shidlaghatta.

•           Rs 46 crore for upgradation of 8 primary health centres in Kaiwara and Nandi villages, and Bagepalli public hospital.