The State Cabinet on Wednesday approved extension of term of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing illegal mining cases.
This follows an earlier Cabinet decision to hand over 76 cases, which was earlier probed by the CBI, to SIT.
The SIT’s term had come to an end and additional time was required to probe these cases, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra told reporters. While 73 cases pertain to illegal ore export from Belekeri and New Mangalore port, three pertain to illegal export through ports in Andhra Pradesh, he said.
The 76 companies that are being probed are accused of shipping 2.86 crore tonnes of iron ore extracted from Ballari, Chitradurga and Tumakuru districts through 1,028 shipments between 2006 and 2010.
He said prosecution permission was yet to be received in two cases where the ore was illegally exported through Chennai.
The Cabinet also approved the integrated examination management system for KSEEB and PU Department that conduct SSLC and PU examinations, respectively. This will ramp up the IT infrastructure for smooth conduct of examinations, evaluation and results. “This entail capturing data online, which is easier and faster. It will also bring accountability and help in simplified updating system,” he said.
The other benefits in the proposed integrated system are Digi locker facility that will enable students to store certificates and documents on the cloud. Students need to possess Aadhaar number to use the locker facility.
Mr. Jayachandra also said that the Cabinet decided to refer the Karnataka Education Policy, 2017 to a sub-committee headed by him to review it before putting out the draft policy.
