HC to govt: May have to order quota redoing

S Shyam Prasad | NT

 Bengaluru

 Asingle-judge bench of the High Court of K a r n a t a k a h a s warned the State Government it may have to order for redoing of the reservation list for the BBMP if lacuna is found in the list already announced.

 The reservation list for the 243 newly-constituted wards was announced on August 3. The wards have been increased from the earlier 198. Several petitions in the HC has challenged the reservation as irregular and politically motivated.

 It was pointed out that in some Assembly segments, all the wards are reserved for women. Justice Hemanth Chandangoudar on Monday directed the Advocate General to get instructions from the Government about the possibility of redoing the reservation list. The hearing of the petitions have been adjourned to September 16.

 Out of the 243 wards, the list announced last month has reserved 81 seats for backward classes, 28 for SCs and 4 for STs. Out of the 243 wards 126 seats are reserved for women. Of the 126 seats reserved for women, 65 are General category, eight for Backward Classes B, 31 for Backward Classes A, 14 for Scheduled Castes and two for Scheduled Tribes

Transformers on footpaths

A compliance report was filed before the High Court of Karnataka on Monday by the Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company Limited (Bescom) regarding the shifting of electrical transformers from footpaths in Bengaluru.

The report stated that of the 5,784 transformers identified on footpaths, 3,194 were shifted in the first phase, which started in April this year. In the second phase 2,588 transformers are being shifted, out of which 1,155 transformers have already been shifted and tenders have been issued for shifting the remaining 1,433.

The work order has already been issued as on September 9, 2022. The division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe is hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by retired Wing Commander GB Athri in 2020 seeking safe[1]ty for pedestrians and public in general from transformers which are installed on public footpaths. Under the guidance of the High Court, a coordination committee was formed of officers from BBMP, Bescom and other government agencies to implement the shifting of transformers to safer locations.

The case was adjourned to January 9, 2023 and the government advocate was directed to file further status reports then