HC bench will be in Dharwad, says CM

Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday made it clear that the high court circuit bench will be located at the Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI) campus in Dharwad and the construction work will begin on July 10.

The chief minister, who visited the WALMI premises told reporters that the process of inviting global tenders had commenced. The construction of the Rs 66 crore building to house the circuit bench will be completed in 18 months, he added.

Brushing aside the demand of the Hubli Bar Association members that the location be changed, the chief minister said that it was not possible at this juncture and the WALMI had been selected by the judges' committee after considering all aspects.

He said that the disunity among the lawyers will only harm the interests of the region and appealed to agitating Hubli lawyers to drop the agitation and fall in line.

The chief minister announced that the state government had sanctioned Rs 50 crore for 2006-2007 for the Malaprabha third stage project. The project is expected to ensure regular supply of drinking water from Malaprabha to Hubli-Dharwad. The project cost which was initially pegged at Rs 176 crore has now gone up to Rs 196 crore. B S Yediyurappa said that the government was immediately releasing Rs 25 crore for the project.

Regarding diverting the Mahadayi waters to Malaprabha, the CM said that the Union water resources minister had sought 15 days to resolve the issue."

We will wait for the Centre's clearance, he asserted. Replying to another question, Kumaraswamy said that the Dharam Singh government had created confusion regarding the inclusion of cities in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) by insisting on including

Gulbarga and the present government was not responsible for it. It was up to the Centre to select cities for inclusion under the JNNURM, he added.

The chief minister said that the government will ensure that there will be no law and order problem during the BJP's rath yatra in the state. He allayed fears that with the BJP in the government, the yatra will provoke communal tension.

The chief minister, refusing to elaborate on the Idgah Maidan issue saying that the matter was in the court, stated that the government will take all parties into confidence before deciding on anything.

The chief minister made it clear that his government will provide funds for development works in Karnataka and particularly North Karnataka as and when required.