Karnataka to fund three rail projects

Bangalore, July 6 (IANS) Karnataka will share 50 percent of the cost of three railway projects in the state with the railway ministry, a minister said Friday.

"The cabinet has approved the three rail projects and decided to release the state's share of Rs.445 crore to execute them at the earliest for improving connectivity with a new line, gauge conversion of an existing line and a level-crossing," Education Minister V.H. Kageri told reporters.

The projects are construction of a 144 km new rail line between Bagalkot and Kudchi in the northern region at a total cost of Rs.816 crore, gauge conversion of 60 km rail line between Kolar and Chikkaballapur in the southern region at Rs.68 crore and level crossing at Bidar in northern district for Rs.6 crore.

"The cabinet also cleared the Rs.35-crore incentive package to silk farmers to produce quality cocoons during this fiscal (2012-13)," Kageri said.

Among other decisions taken at the two-hour long cabinet meeting were development of 13 horticulture projects across the state under the public private partnership and implementation of the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Programme (secondphase) in Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi districts across the coastal region by the state-run Bescom and Mescom utilities.

The cabinet approved setting up of Dayanand Sagar private university in Bangalore, Devaraj Urs private university at Kodigenahalli in Tumkur district, about 70km from here, a veterinary science college at Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district and re-location of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) to Ramanagara, about 40km from Bangalore.

"The cabinet has agreed to provide guarantee to Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike(BBMP) for borrowing Rs.1,000 crore loan from state-run and private banks to fund its various civic-cum-infrastructure projects in the state capital," Kageri added.