1. Reforms in civic governance a mirage for Bengaluru
The Karnataka government has set a two-month deadline for ward delimitation in Bengaluru, and senior Ministers are mulling over holding civic polls in December this year. However, given the lack of clarity over restructuring the city’s governance structure — dividing the civic body into multiple corporations being one of several proposals — it is now feared that governance reforms may be pushed to the background, this time because of civic polls.
The BBMP Restructuring Committee, now reconstituted, submitted its report in 2015, but its recommendations were not implemented as the court mandated immediate civic polls. In June this year, the Karnataka High Court had set a 12-week deadline for ward delimitation. The term of the previous council ended in September 2020. A new council is yet to be elected.
2. Division bench of Karnataka High Court tells X Corp to deposit ₹25 lakh in blocking order dispute
A division bench of the High Court of Karnataka has directed X Corp (formerly Twitter) to deposit ₹25 lakh while staying till further order the ₹50 lakh cost imposed on the company by a single judge while dismissing the platform’s petition against blocking orders issued by authorities in India.
The single judge, in his June 30 verdict, had upheld the legality of blocking orders, issued by competent authorities, asking Twitter to block some accounts and some objectionable tweets from some accounts, under provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Procedures and Safeguards for Blocking of Access to Information by Public) Rules, 2009.
3. Experts, citizens slam Karnataka government for halting projects in IT City
Karnataka government’s reluctance to grant permission to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to float new tenders and clear bills of contractors has drawn flak from citizens and urban experts, who say that the city will suffer. They have argued that having halted every project in Bengaluru, except those run by the BMRCL, the government should stop collecting taxes from residents for its inability to deliver.
The government has ordered four special investigation teams (SIT), headed by IAS officials, to probe projects executed in the last three years and has sought a report in 30 days.
4. Items seized from IMA Group stolen from building in Bengaluru
Items seized from the IMA Group were stolen from the IMA gold building on Lady Curzon Road in Commercial Street in Bengaluru on August 8 despite round-the-clock security. Special officer and competent authority for IMA cases Krishna Udupa filed a complaint with the police on August 9.
Officials had stored the seized items in the basement of IMA gold office, deployed security guards and sealed the building. Between August 4 and August 8, someone gained entry into the building through a ventilator in the washroom. The culprit stole UPS batteries, wires, AC unit copper wires, and a D Link server, totally valued at ₹10,000.
