BANGALORE: The State Cabinet here on Friday approved a new agricultural policy and decided to constitute a Cabinet sub-committee, headed by Minister for Public Works H.D. Revanna, to monitor the implementation of relief package for farmers announced by the Centre to prevent suicide by farmers.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Basavaraj Horatti told presspersons after the Cabinet meeting that the Centre had granted Rs. 1,568 crore and a loan of Rs. 1,121 crore. This package was applicable to Belgaum, Chitradurga, Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Hassan and Kodagu districts.

The members of the Cabinet subcommittee are Minister for Water Resources K.S. Eshwarappa, Higher Education Minister D.H. Shankaramurthy, Primary Education Minister Basavaraj Horatti, Agriculture Minister Bandeppa Kashempur and Horticulture Minister Shashikanth Naik.

Sugar factories

He said the Cabinet approved the leasing out of two sick cooperative sugar factories — the Dhanalakshmi Cooperative Sugar Factory at Ramdurg taluk in Belgaum district and the Brahmavar Cooperative Sugar Factory in Udupi. Tenders would be floated to handover the two sugar factories on a long-term lease.

Free bicycles

The Cabinet cleared free bicycle distribution scheme to high school boys. Each bicycle would cost Rs. 2,100 and around 2.70 lakh boys hailing from below the poverty line families would benefit.

The Cabinet approved enacting a legislation to establish a law university in Hubli.

The deadline for the upgradation of State highways by the Karnataka Road Development Corporation had been extended and the works, which were originally scheduled to be completed by June 30, would now be completed by October 31, 2007. The quantum of funding for the project had been revised from Rs. 2,030 crore to Rs. 2,304 crore and the loans concerned had been rescheduled.

Land for ISKCON

Mr. Horatti said the Cabinet approved sale of 28 acres of land at Vasanthapura on the Kanakapura Road (near Bangalore) to International Society for Krishna Consciousness for the construction of a theme park.

The same land was earlier extended to ISKCON on lease and this was now sold at Rs. 36 lakh an acre compared to the market value of Rs. 72 lakh an acre. A new legislation, the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Bill, would be enacted to curb the growing menace of quacks.

The Chief Minister was witness to a case at Navalgund recently where a young boy suffering from Chikungunya had lost his hand after he was treated by a quack. It was on the intervention of the Chief Minister that this Bill had been proposed, he said.

The Cabinet approved the dismissal of two assistant directors of the Labour Department — C.L. Kittur and Kutej Firoz — who had indulged in a variety of malpractices. The dismissal was approved based on the recommendations of the Upalokayukta.

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