Rs. 149 cr annual project sent for approval

Mangalore, November 23: The annual project for the district has been prepared for Rs 149 crore by including state grant of Rs 74 crore and Central grant of Rs 74 crore.

The project was prepared by the Zilla Panchayat Planning Committee and has been sent to the State government for approval, said Zilla Panchayat President Shailaja Bhat.

Speaking at a meeting, she said additional Rs 49 crore has been sought from the State for the next financial year.

Zilla Panchayat CEO Dr K N Vijayaprakash said that as per Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act 1993 section 310, every district should have district Planning Committee. All the urban and rural local bodies should submit their action plan to the district planning committee for approval.

The district planning committee will be headed by Zilla Panchayat President. Mangalore Mayor will be the vice-president. MP will be the member. There will be 15 Zilla Panchayat members, 9 TMC members, The Zilla Panchayat CEO will be secretary of the committee.

Eight MLAs, 3 MLCs and Deputy Commissioner will be the invited members. The committee will hold its meeting once in three month.

Zilla Panchayat member Naveen Kumar Menala said as the district receives heavy rain, there is a need to send the proposal for concreting of the road instead of asphaltation of road.

The CEO directed the officials to provide drinking water supply to 185 higher primary schools and complete the work on toilets by December 31.

The work on filling the potholes of Zilla Panchayat roads at the cost of Rs 13.5 crore has commenced, he added.

The meeting was attended by Mayor Praveen, Zilla Panchayat Vice-President Dhanalakshmi Janardhan were present.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Mangaluru’s KPT becomes India’s first autonomous govt polytechnic

News Network

January 23,2026

Mangaluru: The Karnataka Government Polytechnic (KPT), Mangaluru, has achieved autonomous status from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), becoming the first government polytechnic in the country to receive such recognition in its 78-year history. The status was granted by AICTE, New Delhi, and subsequently approved by the Karnataka Board of Technical Education in October last year.

Officials said the autonomy was conferred a few months ago. Until recently, AICTE extended autonomous status only to engineering colleges, excluding diploma institutions. However, with a renewed national focus on skill development, several government polytechnics across India have now been granted autonomy.

KPT, the second-largest polytechnic in Karnataka, was established in 1946 with four branches and has since expanded to offer eight diploma programmes, including computer science and polymer technology. The institution is spread across a 19-acre campus.

Ravindra M Keni, the first dean of the institution, told The Times of India that AICTE had proposed autonomous status for polytechnic institutions that are over 25 years old. “Many colleges applied. In the first round, 100 institutions were shortlisted, which was further narrowed down to 15 in the second round. We have already completed one semester after becoming an autonomous institution,” he said. He added that nearly 500 students are admitted annually across eight three-year diploma courses.

Explaining the factors that helped KPT secure autonomy, Keni said the institution has consistently recorded 100 per cent admissions and placements for its graduates. He also noted its strong performance in sports, with the college emerging champions for 12 consecutive years, along with active student participation in NCC and NSS activities.

Autonomous status allows KPT to design industry-oriented curricula, conduct examinations, prepare question papers, and manage academic documentation independently. The institution can also directly collaborate with industries and receive priority funding from AICTE or the Ministry of Education. While academic autonomy has been granted, financial control will continue to rest with the state government.

“There will be separate committees for examinations, question paper setting, boards of studies, and boards of examiners. The institution will now have the freedom to conduct admissions without government notifications and issue its own marks cards,” Keni said, adding that new academic initiatives would be planned after a year of functioning under the autonomous framework.

Comments