Move to make CM Chancellor of RDPR University

This is the first Bill to be tabled to clip the Governor’s role in the university affairs

The State government has decided to table the Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University (KSRDPRU) Bill, 2024, in the Winter session of the State legislature in Belagavi, which will replace the Governor with the Chief Minister as the Chancellor of the university.

A Cabinet meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday, decided to introduce amendments to the KSRDPRU Act to allow this.

Clipping powers

This is the first Bill to be tabled to clip the Governor’s role in the university affairs and could lead to another round of confrontation between the government and Raj Bhavan.

Briefing presspersons on the Cabinet decisions, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil said the Bill would make the university more active and enable it to take quick decisions.

The Cabinet took the decision because the university was directly related to administration, panchayat administration, and rural development, he said. The KSRDPRU was established in Gadag in 2016 to focus on education towards rural development.

Nine Bills cleared

The Cabinet also cleared nine Bills related to various subjects and all of them would be placed during the session.

The Cabinet approved the Karnataka Labour Welfare Fund (Amendment) Bill, which would increase the labour welfare corpus fund.

Once the Bill was passed, the labourer’s share would be ₹50, employer’s share ₹100, and the government’s share would be ₹50. With this amendment, the amount collected annually would go up from ₹42 crore to ₹100 crore, he said.

“This will go to the Karnataka Labour Welfare Fund,” the Minister said. Now, the worker’s contribution is ₹20, employer’s ₹40, and the State government’s ₹20.

The Cabinet approved the Karnataka Groundwater Regulations and Control of Development and Management Amendment Bill, which envisages monitoring open borewells, which result in many accidents where children fall, get trapped and lose their lives. This Bill makes the borewell drillers and the farm owners responsible for the accident.

It has a provision of one year’s imprisonment and ₹10,000 fine in the event of an accident. There is a provision of three month imprisonment and ₹5,000 fine for being negligent towards the open borewells.

The Basavanabagewadi Development Authority Bill, 2024, was also approved by the Cabinet.

The Minister said the Karnataka Tourism Ropeway Bill, 2024, would be placed in the legislature for providing ropeway for tourists in at least 11-12 places in the near future. Work had already been started at Nandi Hills, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, Mr. Patil added.

The Cabinet approved two other Bills related to the Goods and Services Act and a Bill to replace the Ordinance related to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, he said.

The Cabinet also cleared the Chanakya University Amendment Bill for nominating a government nominee to the university.

Published - November 28, 2024 09:17 pm IST