ST Corporation scam, Cauvery water issue may rock legislature session

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Alleged financial irregularities in ST Corporation and the Cauvery river water sharing issue are likely to rock the monsoon session of the Karnataka assembly, which starts from July 15.

The assembly is expected to witness some noisy scenes as the opposition BJP is planning to raise the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation scam worth Rs 187 crore and the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.

Congress MLA B Nagendra, who resigned his position as the Tribal Welfare Minister, has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate while search is on for the Valmiki Corporation chairman and MLA Basavaraj Daddal.

The scam came to light after the Accounts Superintendent of the Corporation Chandrasekharan P died by suicide on May 26. The Congress government thereafter constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has so far arrested 11 people in connection with the case.

The opposition BJP and the JD(S) have demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the finance portfolio over the issue.

It has also claimed that the MUDA alternative site scam is worth over Rs 3,000 crore and sought a CBI probe, which the state government has dismissed.

Apart from these two scams, the opposition BJP and JD(S) will look to corner the state government on the diversion of funds from the SC/ST sub-plan towards the five guarantees. The session may also see uproar and serious deliberations on the Cauvery river water sharing to Tamil Nadu.

The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee's (CWRC) directive to the State to release one tmcft of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu daily till this month-end has irked the state government, which is exploring options to find a legal remedy.

This upcoming session is the first post the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The session is likely to see passage of two bills pending before the legislature. They are The Karnataka CoOperative Societies (Amendment)Bill, 2024 and The KarnatakaSouharda Sahakari(Amendment) Bill,2024.

There are at least two bills cleared by the scrutiny committee, which may be presented during the session. They are The Karnataka IrrigationBill, 2024 and The Karnataka Goods AndServices Tax (Amendment)Bill, 2024.