Will ask MPs, MLAs to reserve lands to tackle shortage: R Ashoka

BENGALURU: Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Wednesday said he will write to MLAs, MLCs and MPs to reserve government lands, so that there won’t be any shortage of land for the next 50 years. Replying to a question by BJP member Gopinath Reddy in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, the minister said that going by the current trend, no government land will be available to build hospitals, schools or colleges in the next 20 years.

“When I visited a village in Davanagere recently, there was no graveyard there and no one was willing to provide land for the purpose. At present, there are no graveyards in around 2,000 villages,” he said.

“To tackle the issue, I will write to all MLAs, MLCs, and MPs in the next week, requesting them to identify and reserve government lands so that there won’t be a shortage of land for the next 50 years. We will also take steps to protect the available land from encroachment,” he added.

He further added that there was a delay in giving compensation to the kin of Covid-19 victims in some cases, as they had not linked their Aadhaar numbers to their bank accounts. He was replying to a question by Congress MLC UB Venkatesh.

Five bills passed
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (Amendment) Bill, 2022, Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Karnataka Municipalities (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Karnataka Silkworm Seed, Cocoon and Silk Yarn (Regulation of Production, Supply, Distribution and Sale) (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and the Karnataka Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2022, were passed in the Legislative Council on Wednesday. All five Bills were welcomed by the Opposition, but with a few changes.