Absenteeism continues to mar KDP meet

[email protected] (CD Network,Photos by Savitha B R)
August 11, 2011

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Mangalore, August 11: As many as 42 officials of various departments were absent for the monthly Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) meet held at the Zilla Panchayat office here on Thursday.

Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Dr. K N Vijayaprakash ordered the absentees to produce a show-cause for their absence. The absence of officials has plagued the KDP monthly meetings for quite some time now.

Questioning officials about pending works under the 2008-09 Indira Avaas Yojana, Mr Vijayaprakash instructed them to complete the projects without further delay or face serious action. In Puttur out of the 238 houses sanctioned 237 were complete while in Bantwal 70 houses were still pending.

Deputy Director of Women and Children Welfare Department informed in the meeting that the payment of salary, grant for the month of July was still pending.

She also informed the CEO that the construction of Anganawadi centres was still under progress. According to the maintenance report of the DK ZP, Rs. 1.75 lakhs were allotted to an Anganawadi centre in Mandekol village in Sullia taluk in a span of two years and it was still under construction.

The inquiries of the CEO about the activities of various development programmes handled by different departments were often met by answers ranging from the “lack of personnel” to “lack of information”.

Some of the queries went unanswered due to the absence of officials.

Replying to a question from the CEO for not achieving the expected rate for immunication, officials from Health and Family Welfare department said that the decrease in birth rates was the major reason for a visibly bad record. They also informed that the infant mortality rate is 13 for every 1000 births while the maternal mortality rate was 93 for 100000 women.

Officials said that 16 cases of filaria have been discovered in the district especially in coastal areas. Even though filarial vaccinations were mass administered twice a year, lack of civic responsibility in maintaining clean surroundings was the cause for disease. The officials from Kolache Nirmulana Mandali were absent to answer queries.

Dr Vijayaprakash instructed the Deputy Director, Women's Development Corporation to initiate new steps for the development of rural women in line with the developments in the modern world. “Tailoring classes and beauty parlor classes have become too primitive”, he opined.

The discussion on the progress of education took majority of the stipulated time. CEO quizzed the officials as it was found that repair works at 575 Anganawadi buildings across the districts were pending.

A suggestion was also floated to provide caste certificates to SC/ST students at school. It was also recommended that if any SC/ST student quit school, then the school should be held responsible. Officials also answered questions about the progress made by them under the “Marali Baa Shalege” programme.

Officials informed that out of the “known” 63 students who had left school, 58 were encouraged to go back.

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News Network
January 20,2026

DGP.jpg

Karnataka DGP (Civil Rights Enforcement) K Ramachandra Rao was suspended with immediate effect, as per a state government order issued on Monday, 19 January. The order cited conduct unbecoming of a government servant and causing embarrassment to the state administration.

The Karnataka government suspended Rao after a purported video showed him in a compromising position with a woman inside his official chamber. The video went viral on social media. Rao rejected the videos outright, terming them "fabricated and false".

Who is K Ramachandra Rao?

Rao is a DGP-rank officer who was heading the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement until his suspension. He was promoted to DGP in September 2023 and assumed office in October 2023, the Sunday Guardian reported.

He also served as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.

His stint as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for the Southern Range was also marred by controversy. In 2014, during a cash seizure near Mysuru’s Yelwal, officials claimed the seized amount was ₹20 lakh, while the accused (Kerala-based merchants) claimed it was around ₹2.27 crore.

Rao, who was present during the seizure, denied all allegations. However, he was transferred soon after.

Allegations of collusion with a businessman surfaced, and a senior police officer was quoted by The Sunday Guardian as saying, “In Rao’s case, the CID has clearly mentioned that there was a great degree of lapse on the part of Rao and a deputy superintendent of police after it was brought to their notice that a few policemen, including a gunman attached to the IGP, were involved in the robbery.”

Rao had denied all wrongdoing in that incident. Despite past controversies, he rose to the state’s top police position, the Sunday Guardian reported.

Ranya Rao’s stepfather

Rao is the stepfather of Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya alias Ranya Rao, accused of orchestrating the illegal import of gold worth over ₹12.56 crore from Dubai to India along with two others — businessman Tarun Raju, and jewellery dealer Sahil Jain.

‘Obscene video’ controversy

A viral video showed Rao behaving inappropriately with a woman inside his office while in uniform.

The Karnataka government said in its Monday order that “vide videos and news reports widely broadcast on public news channels and media platforms, it is observed that Dr K Ramachandra Rao has acted in an obscene manner which is unbecoming of a Government Servant and also causing embarrassment to the Government.”

The order said the matter was examined by the state government, which found that the officer's conduct amounted to a violation of Rule 3 of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968.

The government said it is prima facie satisfied that "it is necessary to place Rao under suspension with immediate effect, pending inquiry".

During the suspension period, Rao will be entitled to subsistence allowance as per Rule 4 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969.

The order also places restrictions on his movement, stating that during the period of suspension, the officer must not leave headquarters under any circumstances without the written permission of the state government.

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News Network
February 1,2026

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday criticised the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, claiming it offered no tangible benefit to the state.

Though he said he was yet to study the budget in detail, Shivakumar asserted that Karnataka had gained little from it. “There is no benefit for our state from the central budget. I was observing it. They have now named a programme after Mahatma Gandhi, after repealing the MGNREGA Act that was named after him,” he said.

Speaking to reporters here, the Deputy Chief Minister demanded the restoration of MGNREGA, and made it clear that the newly enacted rural employment scheme — VB-G RAM G — which proposes a 60:40 fund-sharing formula between the Centre and the states, would not be implemented in Karnataka.

“I don’t see any major share for our state in this budget,” he added.

Shivakumar, who also holds charge of Bengaluru development, said there were high expectations for the city from the Union Budget. “The Prime Minister calls Bengaluru a ‘global city’, but what has the Centre done for it?” he asked.

He also drew attention to the problems faced by sugar factories, particularly those in the cooperative sector, alleging a lack of timely decisions and support from the central government.

Noting that the Centre has the authority to fix the minimum support price (MSP) for agricultural produce, Shivakumar said the Union government must take concrete steps to protect farmers’ interests.

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News Network
January 23,2026

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot read only three lines from the 122-paragraph address prepared by the Congress-led state government while addressing the joint session of the Legislature on Thursday, effectively bypassing large sections critical of the BJP-led Union government.

The omitted portions of the customary Governor’s address outlined what the state government described as a “suppressive situation in economic and policy matters” under India’s federal framework. The speech also sharply criticised the Centre’s move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, commonly referred to as the VB-GRAM (G) Act.

Governor Gehlot had earlier conveyed his objection to several paragraphs that were explicitly critical of the Union government. On Thursday, he confined himself to the opening lines — “I extend a warm welcome to all of you to the joint session of the State legislature. I am extremely pleased to address this august House” — before jumping directly to the concluding sentence of the final paragraph.

He ended the address by reading the last line of paragraph 122: “Overall, my government is firmly committed to doubling the pace of the State’s economic, social and physical development. Jai Hind — Jai Karnataka.”

According to the prepared speech, the Karnataka government demanded the scrapping of the VB-GRAM (G) Act, describing it as “contractor-centric” and detrimental to rural livelihoods, and called for the full restoration of MGNREGA. The state government argued that the new law undermines decentralisation, weakens labour protections, and centralises decision-making in violation of constitutional norms.

Key points from the unread sections of the speech:

•    Karnataka facing a “suppressive” economic and policy environment within the federal system

•    Repeal of MGNREGA described as a blow to rural livelihoods

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of protecting corporate and contractor interests

•    New law alleged to weaken decentralised governance

•    Decision-making said to be imposed by the Centre without consulting states

•    Rights of Adivasis, women, backward classes and agrarian communities curtailed

•    Labourers allegedly placed under contractor control

•    States facing mounting fiscal stress due to central policies

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of enabling large-scale corruption

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