Yeddi Hints at Cabinet Expansion -Launches Rs 3384 Cr Drinking Water Scheme
From Our Special Correspondent
CM Hints at Cabinet Expansion; Mum on Details
BANGALORE, MAY 26: EVEN as Karnataka’s BJP government headed by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is all set to complete its first year in office on May 30, speculation is ripe in state’s ruling party circles on whether there will be an expansion of the ministry.
To a pointed question from reporters on the sidelines of a function, the chief minister dropped enough hints to indicate that it was under his ``active consideration.’’
"I am holding discussions senior leaders and cabinet colleagues,’’ Yeddyurappa said refusing to divulge further details.
Answering persistent queries, he said the date for the cabinet expansion, the scope or whether it will be a complete reconstitution of the ministry or minor reshuffle was yet to be decided.
However, the chief minister has almost made up his mind to induct former Congress MLA from Govindarajanagar constituency in the city, V Somanna, who quit his assembly membership and joined expected to be a big boost to the ruling party as the former wields considerable influence among his Lingayat community. Giving cabinet ministership to Somanna ahead of the ensuing elections to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, which have to be held by July as per the directions of the Karnataka High Court, is viewed as a big plus factor for BJP.
Incidentally, Yeddyurappa is also under strong pressure to honour the ``promise’’ reportedly given to state assembly speaker Jagadish Shettar, who is also a Lingyat, on being made a minister after an year. With the size of the ministry restricted to 34, the chief minister will have to drop a couple of ministers to accommodate new faces. With BJP enjoying clear majority on its own in the 224-member assembly, the chief minister enjoys the luxury of dropping one or two from among the five independents who were included in the ministry.
The ruling party’s remarkable feat of winning 19 out of the 28 lok sabha seats in the state, one more than the tally in the 2004 elections, is believed to have increased the chief minister’s clout even though BJP fell short of his expectations of winning ``at least 22 to 25 seats.’’
It remains to be seen whether Yeddyurappa will go in for a total revamp or a minor reshuffle of the ministry.
Meanwhile, the chier minister dismissed opposition Congress party’s charge that he had ordered ``surveillance’’ of his ministerial colleagues and termed it as baseless and contended that the Congress party were ``masters in tapping telephones of its political opponents.’’
"No minister is under surveillance by the state intelligence. An incident of taking photograph of Housing Minister S N Krishanaiah Shetty should not be given that importance,’’ he said and explained that the action of sleuth taking photographs during the minister’s visit to a temple in the city should not be misunderstood.
BSY launches Rs 3384 cr drinking water scheme for Bangalore
PEOPLE of Bangalore, who supported ruling BJP in Karnataka in a big way by blessing it with all the three Lok Sabha seats in the city and leaving only the Bangalore rural seat to JD(S), are being sought to be rewarded by a grateful Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa with the launching of the ambitious fourth stage works under the second phase of Cauvery water supply scheme on Monday.
The ambitious scheme aimed at bringing an additional 500 million litres a day (MLD) supply to meet the growing demands of the city is being funded with loan assistance of Rs 3,384 crore from
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) for implementing the project and Rs 300 crore has been earmarked for 2009-10.
Works related to supply of untreated water, processing and pumping of waters in three centres are being taken up. Cauvery water would be brought from Shiva Anekat to Torekadanahalli, where water would be treated using advanced technology. As Bangalore is situated above 1,500 ft from the river base and the water has to flow upwards, water would be pumped from T.K.Halli, Harohalli and Tataguni pumping centres. The BWWSB, established in 1964, conceived the Cauvery Water Supply Scheme and implemented the first stage in 1974 with three more stages being implemented in 1982, 1993 and 2002. Out of the 840 MLD of water presently being supplied by BWSSB to Bangalore, as much as 810 MLD was met by Cauvery river from the four stages of the scheme.
BWSSB has entrusted work of supplying steel plates required for the manufacturer of 2,700 mm diameter water pipes to Central public sector undertaking, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), which would supply 86,000 tonnes of MS plates at a cost of Rs 300 crore.
The chief minister said the BWSSB would install meters to beneficiaries in over 350 slums identified in the city at its own cost.
Yeddyurappa said the government planned to create four mini-Lalbaghs on the lines of the world famous botanical garden Lalbagh and also an equal number of Bal Bhavans in different parts of the city. Plans were afoot to build four major hospitals in four directions of the city and the necessary land would be acquired soon.
The chief minister announced plans to lead a ministerial delegation to New Delhi soon to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the newly inducted central ministers in the union cabinet, S M Krishna and M Veerappa Moily, both former state chief ministers, to seek more funds for improving Bangalore’s infrastructure facilities.