Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday requested the 16th Finance Commission to recommend capping of cesses and surcharges at five per cent of gross tax revenue, and anything exceeding that should be a part of the divisible pool.

In his address to Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission Arvind Panagariya and its members at a meeting here, he also requested the panel to recommend that vertical devolution should be at least 50 per cent of the divisible pool.

All non-tax revenues of the Centre should be included in the divisible pool of taxes by bringing the necessary Constitutional amendment, Siddaramaiah said.

The Chief Minister said economically advanced States are committed to supporting poorer States, but this should not come at the expense of their own residents or economic efficiency.

The Commission needs to carefully examine the impact of extremely high emphasis given to equity on the incentives of well performing states.

“Moreover, the taxpayers of such states expect their taxes to work for them. This creates public trust. The Finance Commission therefore needs to do a tightrope walk while balancing equity with efficiency and performance”, Siddaramaiah said.

Due to the disproportionate weightage given to equity by the 15th Finance Commission, Karnataka and similarly placed States ended up getting penalised for their good performance, both fiscally and demographically, the Chief Minister said.

Noting that cesses and surcharges are not part of the divisible pool, the Chief Minister said over the years, the Union Government has increased its reliance on them.

This has led to the divisible pool not growing in the same proportion as the Gross Tax Revenue, he said. This has caused substantial loss to all the States.

The loss to Karnataka on account of the non-sharing of cesses and surcharges from the divisible pool is Rs. 53,359 crore during the period 2017-18 to 2024-25, according to him.

The Chief Minister said reduction in central financial transfers is placing severe limitations on the ability of the States to invest in physical and human infrastructure, adding, this issue must be addressed urgently.

“Economically advanced States are committed to supporting poorer States, but this should not come at the expense of their own residents or economic efficiency,” Siddaramaiah said. “A larger proportion of resources generated by the States should be shared with them.”

He requested the Commission to take a bold view and approach, whereby equity considerations are balanced with sufficient reward for efficiency and performance.

Karnataka recommends that 60 per cent of contribution of a state to the divisible pool, for inter se allocation among states, should be given to that state, Siddaramaiah said.

Karnataka, the Chief Minister said, has been central to India’s growth story, adding, it contributes approximately 8.4 per cent to the national GDP with only about five per cent of the population. The State ranks second in total GST contribution to the country.

Despite Karnataka’s substantial contribution of about Rs four lakh crore to the Gross Tax Revenue of the Union every year, the state gets about Rs 45,000 crore in the form of devolution and about Rs. 15,000 crore grant-in-aid.

“This means that for every rupee Karnataka contributes, only 15 paise is returned to the state,” he pointed out.

The Chief Minister said Karnataka requires greater devolution by the Centre as it faces regional imbalances, especially in the Kalyana Karnataka region, and the challenges of urbanisation.

Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said, needs an investment of Rs. 55,586 crore over the next five years out of which the State requested for a grant of Rs 27,793 crore.

Similarly, for the equitable development of the Kalyana Karnataka region, the State is investing Rs 25,000 crore and requested a matching grant of Rs.25,000 crores over five years from the 16th Finance Commission.

To ensure effective disaster mitigation and timely relief and rehabilitation measures in the highly vulnerable region of Western Ghats, the State requested a grant of Rs.10,000 crore.

According to him, the 15th Finance Commission’s award reduced Karnataka’s share sharply from 4.713 to 3.647. This has led to a loss of Rs. 68,275 crore during the five-year period from 2021-26, he said.

The Finance Commission was conscious of the drastic cut Karnataka received and recommended state specific grants of Rs.11,495 crore, the Chief Minister said, adding, the Government of India, however, has not accepted the recommendation.

“So, Karnataka was deprived of these grants as well. The total of all the losses amount to Rs 79,770 Crores during the 15th Finance Commission period,”, Siddaramaiah said.

Karnataka, he said, has seen a revenue transfer of Rs 35,000-40,000 crore per year to other States, amounting to 1.8 percent of its GSDP, during the 15th Finance Commission period.

“The figure is astounding because the net transfers outside of Karnataka amount to about 50 to 55 percent of the total revenues it generates.”

Bengaluru: The High Court has adjourned the hearing on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s petition challenging the Governor’s permission for his prosecution in the MUDA case.

The court has scheduled the next hearing for August 31, which falls on Saturday.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented CM Siddaramaiah in the proceedings.

Actor Darshan

Bengaluru: Actor Darshan has been transferred from Bengaluru Central Jail to Ballari Central Jail. The transfer, which occurred at 9:55 AM on Thursday, is connected to allegations that Darshan received preferential treatment while in custody regarding the Renukaswamy murder case in Chitradurga.

Authorities decided to move Darshan to Bellary Jail to ensure impartiality and address concerns about the special treatment he reportedly received during his stay in Bengaluru Central Jail.

Bengaluru: A Bengaluru woman on the morning of 28th August, woke up to find her friend lying dead beside her with her throat slit. The victim, B. Navyashree, 28, a choreographer, was found by her close friend Aishwarya in a pool of blood on Wednesday morning.

The incident took place at Navyashree’s residence in Vishweshwaraiah Layout, Kengeri. Aishwarya, who works with a real estate firm in RR Nagar, had stayed over at her friend’s house to console her over ongoing marital issues. The police have identified Navyashree’s husband, A. Kiran, 31, a cab driver, as the prime suspect. Kiran, who had reportedly fled the scene after the crime, has since been detained for questioning.

According to the police, Kiran had become increasingly insecure about his wife’s profession and suspected her fidelity. The couple had frequent arguments, with Kiran demanding that Navyashree change her career. On the night of the murder, Navyashree had confided in Aishwarya about her marital troubles. The two friends, along with Kiran, had dinner together after which Aishwarya and Navyashree went to bed in one room, while Kiran retired to another.

The next morning, Aishwarya awoke to the gruesome sight of her friend lying in a pool of blood. She immediately screamed for help, alerting neighbors who then contacted the police. The investigation is ongoing.

Bengaluru: A delegation led by Kerala MP M K Raghavan met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday and requested him to resume search operations to trace the Kozhikode driver and two others who went missing following a massive landslide in Shirur last month.

The incident, which occurred on National Highway 66 on July 16, claimed the lives of eight people.

Raghavan, a Lok Sabha MP from Kozhikode along with Kerala MLA AKM Ashraf and Karwar MLA Satish Krishna Sail met Siddaramaiah in his office today and also submitted a letter to him requesting for permission to bring a dredger for search operations in Gangawali River.

In the letter, the Kerala MP stated,”…recent landslide happened in Shirur has resulted in the missing of three individuals: Arun (from Kerala), Jagannathan and Lokesh. As a representative of Kozhikode, I am profoundly grateful to your government and district administration including police, who has worked day and night with rescue and relief operations effectively coordinating with various state and central agencies to find the missing persons.

“Despite our hard work, we are unable to locate the missing persons. However, we believe that there is still a possibility of finding them with the aid of a dredger. Therefore we respectfully seek your permission to deploy a dredger in Gangawali river to search for the missing individuals,” the letter further stated.

The delegation requested the chief minister to give necessary instructions to the district administration of Karwar to resume the rescue operations immediately using a dredger.

According to officials, the search operations were halted on July 28 due to adverse weather conditions, high river current and other factors. Later, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote a letter to Siddaramaiah requesting him to resume operations to trace the lorry driver from Kozhikode following which the operations were resumed on August 14 but again the search operations were halted due to various factors.

Bengaluru: The state government has recently appointed several individuals as syndicate members to various universities across Karnataka. The official notification was issued on Wednesday, April 28, confirming the appointments.

Bangalore University (Jnanabharati Campus):

– Dr. Jayashree Hegde
– M.A. Mahadev Naik
– Dr. K. Sharifa
– D.B. Gangaraju
– Dandikere Nagaraj
– Ramesh Babu

Bangalore City University:

– Ayesha Farzana
– H. Krishnaram
– Dr. Francis Almeida
– V. Shivakumar
– K.P. Patil
– Dr. Beerappa H.

Bangalore North University (Kolar):

– Sahana S.R.
– Jaideep
– Arbaz Pasha
– M. Gopal Gowda
– K. Basavaraj

Kuvempu University, Shivamogga:

– Prof. Sakamma
– Prof. Shivakumar M.
– Musaveer Language
– Laxmikanta Chimanur
– K.P. Shripal
– H. Aravind

Gulbarga University, Kalaburagi:

– Dr. Sridevi S. Kattimani
– Peer Zada Faheemuddin
– Mallanna S. Madiwala
– Uday Kant
– Siddappa

Raichur University

– Dr. Meenakshi Khandi Math
– D.R. Chinna
– Zeeshan Akhil Siddiqui
– Shivanna
– Channabasava
– K. Statue

Vijayanagar Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Bellary:

– Dr. Jayalakshmi Naik
– Dr. Y. Orthoba Leader
– B. Peer Basha
– Shivakumar K.
– Dr. Amaresh Nugadoni
– Ch. H. Raghunath

Kannada University, Hampi:

– Dr. B. Yousuma
– Somasekhara Colored House
– Dr. M.S. Muthiah
– N.A.M. Ismail
– Dr. Banjagere Jayaprakash
– Dr. K. Phaniraj
– Dr. Nataraj Huliyar
– B.R. Patil

Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa

Bengaluru : A court here on Wednesday extended till September nine the judicial custody of Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa along with his friend Pavithra Gowda and others, who are accused in the Renukaswamy murder case.

All the 17 accused, including Darshan and Pavithra, were produced before the magistrate court through video conferencing from Bengaluru and Tumakuru prisons, where they are lodged, as their judicial custody ended today.

The extension of judicial custody follows a remand application filed by the Police.

The 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on Tuesday granted permission to shift Darshan, who is currently in judicial custody at Parappana Agrahara Central jail here, to a jail in Ballari. after a photograph of him hanging out with three others, including a rowdy-sheeter, on the lawns of the jail had gone viral on Sunday, sparking an uproar.

The court has also permitted shifting of other co-accused in the murder case to various prisons in the state.

In the picture, the actor is seen in a relaxed mood, sitting on a chair and holding a cigarette and a coffee mug. Also, a purported video of Darshan speaking to a person over a video call from the prison too had surfaced on social media.

Other accused — Pawan, Raghavendra and Nandish — will be shifted to Mysuru Jail, Jagadish and Lakshmana to Shivamogga Jail, Dhanraj to Dharwad Jail, Vinay to Vijayapura Jail, Nagaraj to Kalaburagi/Gulbarga Jail, and Pradosh to Belagavi Jail, official sources said.

Three accused -‘ Pavithra Gowda, Anukumar, and Deepak — will continue to remain at Parappana Agrahara Central Jail here. Four accused — Ravi, Karthik, Nikhil and Keshavamurthy — were earlier shifted to Tumakuru prison.

Nine prison officials, including the Chief Superintendent of the Parappana Agrahara jail, were suspended on Monday over their “lapses” after a preliminary probe into “special treatment” to Darshan.

Also, three FIRs were registered, including against Darshan, under sections of the Prisons Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

According to police sources, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to Gowda, which enraged Darshan, allegedly leading to his murder. His body was found near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on June nine.

Raghavendra, one of the accused who is part of Darshan’s fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R Nagar here, on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.

According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga, died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.

Police sources said Pavithra, who is accused number one, was the “major cause” for Renukaswamy’s murder, claiming that it has been proved from the probe that she instigated other accused, conspired with them, and took part in the crime.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Friday suggested a slew of measures to be adopted to ensure the safety and security of doctors working in hospitals across the state.

A meeting chaired by Minister for Medical Education Sharanprakash Patil discussed safety measures for doctors, nurses and hospital staff. Members of the doctors’ association were asked to draft a document so that the Department of Medical Education can prepare a standard advisory. After the recent rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata, which has shocked the entire nation, the safety profile for the working doctors has once again been reviewed, the Director of Medical Education Dr Shobha Rathod said.

“On the instructions of our minister, we have held a meeting with all the directors of the government institutes and the super specialty hospitals to identify the gaps in the safety profile for our working doctors.

According to DME, there are 71 medical colleges including 22 government medical colleges under the Department of Medical Education. Apart from them, there are nursing and paramedical institutes in the state. During the meet, the department also reviewed the safety lapses. Following the Nirbhaya advisory, the department has been insisting that there are no dark corridors anywhere and all the places should be well lit, Rathod said adding that CCTV cameras should be installed in most of the areas.

“The security personnel are the ones who can walk anywhere with the consent in all the areas of the institute, so whether we have a good background check of all these people whom we take under security and housekeeping, that was one issue.”

All the institutes have the Prevention of Sexual Harassment committees, which can also suggest a precautionary measure so that if there is any such incident then an alert can be sounded. Rathod said the POSH committees have been regularly conducting meeting to make sure that there are no incidents of harassment of women. The department is also using Artificial Intelligence for the safety of each doctor. Self-defence training of the doctors and counseling of medical professionals regarding their stress levels were also discussed, she explained.

“We are also encouraging pink boxes so that in case of unbiased complaints, the administration can look into it,” Dr Rathod said.

“Introducing of ‘code white’ system. – If there is something called a code white, which we have already seen, it being worked out in our Indian Institute of nephro-urology, that will make all of them alert, how quickly we can be alerted if there is an untoward incident which is happening,” she added.