Karnataka Current Affairs – KAS/KPSC Exams – 1st March 2019

by Mentors4ias · March 1, 2019

Drones and UAVs to be used to resurvey lands in State

The government has decided to resurvey lands and properties in the State by employing state-of-the-art technologies, including drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), by roping in Survey of India.
The government has entered into an agreement with Survey of India. In the first phase, it has been decided to conduct resurvey of land and properties in Tumakuru, Hassan, Uttara Kannada, Belagavi, and Ramanagaram districts, and Bengaluru city.
The technology using drone/UAVs for mapping of the land mass was successfully conducted at Jayanagar Assembly segment in Bengaluru city and Ramanagaram on a pilot basis.
While the Union government would spend Rs. 110 crore to conduct survey in the five rural districts, a cost of Rs. 15 crore for survey work in Bengaluru city would be borne by the State government.
The first phase would be completed in two years.
In the next five years, all districts in Karnataka will be mapped with the help of drones and UAVs
The entire land and properties of Bengaluru city will be brought under 3-D mapping.

New Taluks

The State Cabinet recently gave its stamp of approval for the formation of 12 new taluks, including Kushalnagar and Ponnampet in Kodagu district.
The other new taluks are: Harohalli (Ramanagaram), Chelur (Chickballapur), Teradala (Bagalkot), Kalasa (Chikkamagaluru), Alamela (Vijayapura), Mulki and Ullal (Dakshina Kannada), Saligrama (Mysuru), Shantigrama (Hassan), and Yaragatti (Belagavi), according to a government notification.

SWR records gross earnings of Rs. 4,860 cr.

South Western Railway (SWR) has recorded gross earnings of Rs. 4,860 crore till January 2019, an increase of Rs. 199 crore when compared to the corresponding period of the last fiscal.
Chairing the 19th Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) meeting of SWR here recently, General Manager of SWR Ajay Kumar Singh said that the performance of the zone during the first 10 months of the financial year had been promising.
While the zone had recorded 41.85 MT of freight during the period, it had carried 164.06 million passengers during the period.
In 2017-18 SWR had carried 196.22 million passengers.

Chief Minister announced the formation of Kushalnagar and Ponnampet taluks in Kodagu following the Cabinet’s decision conceding the long-pending demand of the people of the hill district. With this, Kodagu will have five taluks; the other three being Madikeri, Virajpet, and Somwarpet.
The Chief Minister also said that his government would protect the interests of tribals.
The government announced 14 new taluks, including Ponnampet and Kushalnagar, after taking over the reins of the State. A sum of Rs. 50 lakh would be released to each newly formed taluk in the first stage for establishing basic infrastructure.
On the occasion, the govt symbolically handed over keys of houses built for the displaced tribals of Diddahalli, who were evacuated from the Devamachi reserve forests. The evacuation had led to a lot of resentment among the tribals.
Out of 528 houses built for the displaced tribals, more than 300 of them had been completed and the remaining ones were said to be in various stages of completion. The houses have also been built at Basavanahalli and Byadagotta villages.