The Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed an amendment bill that proposes to make rainwater harvesting mandatory in all city corporations of the State.

Rainwater harvesting is already mandatory in Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits with the Assembly passing the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment) Bill, last year, making it mandatory for citizens living within the jurisdiction of the Palike to install rainwater harvesting systems in their buildings.

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) will supply Cauvery drinking water to residents on the outskirts of the City from June this year, Minister for Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, S Suresh Kumar, said on Tuesday.

‘Greed of a few people putting ecology in peril’

The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on Monday recommended cancellation of 49 mining leases in three districts of Karnataka, including some belonging to both BJP and Congress politicians.

The Supreme Court has directed the Bangalore City Cooperative Housing Society Ltd to return the vacant portion of the land it had acquired years ago to its rightful owners, holding that the land acquisition procedure by the state government was “illegal.”

A Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly dismissed the society’s appeal against judgments by the Karnataka High Court in the case.

The Union government has released a sum of Rs 868 crore to take up minor irrigation projects in the drought-affected taluks of the State.

The State government had submitted a proposal to take up about 493 different minor irrigation projects in 81 drought-affected taluks at a cost of Rs 685 crore. Of these, the Centre approved 404 projects to be taken up in five phases, Secretary to Minor Irrigation Department P N Srinivasachary said.

Company violating guidelines, says MoEF panel

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) Committee, which visited the mini-hydel power project sites in the Western Ghats following an order of the High Court of Karnataka, has found glaring violation of the Wildlife Act by privately owned Maruthi Power (Gen) India Private Limited (MPIPL).

The State government has dropped a proposal to expand the Bhadra Tiger Reserve as well as include Kudremukh National Park under Project Tiger after local people opposed it, Law Minister Suresh Kumar told the Assembly on Thursday.

Replying to the issue raised by Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, the minister said the government shelved the plan in the interest of tribals and other forest dwellers.

‘Outsourcing supply will see tariffs skyrocketing’

Day Two of the Bangalore World Water Summit saw a parallel summit being organised by Peoples Campaign for Right to Water, which sees a move to privatise water supply in the agenda of such meets.

Kannada movie on brigand’s life being shot inside elephant habitat

violation: Crew members of ‘Attahaasa’ shooting in a forest in Chamarajanagar district. ‘Attahaasa’, a Kannada film based on slain forest brigand Veerappan, is again in the news for the wrong reasons. The movie by A M R Ramesh of ‘Cyanide’ fame is being shot in the forest area in violation of the Forest Act.

In a transparent attempt to offload the responsibility of providing drinking and potable water to the people, the Ministry of Water Resources has said privatisation of water supply is the way forward.

In its draft National Water Policy of 2012 released on Tuesday, the ministry has proposed that the State shift its onus of being a ‘service provider’ to being a ‘facilitator’ for supply of water to citizens.