1.State May Lose Grant Over Delayed Local Polls
Context:
- State may lose out on grant if local body polls are not completed soon
- The State Election Commission (SEC) will write to the Karnataka government next week to take immediate steps to facilitate conduct of elections to zilla and taluk panchayats and other municipal corporations, including BBMP, whose term has expired.
- State risks losing ₹2,100 crore infrastructure grant if local body elections are not completed by February-March 2025, per State Election Commission.
- 15th Finance Commission mandates the release of the grant only if local body elections are held and an elected governance system is established; otherwise, the grant will lapse.
- The Finance Commission in Indiais a constitutional body established under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution.
- Its primary function is to recommend the distribution of financial resources between the central government and the state governments.
- The Fifteenth Finance Commissionwas constituted in It made recommendations covering the period of six years commencing on 1st April, 2020 through its Interim and Final Reports.
Enhancing State Funds for Local Bodies:
- Identifying measures to enhance the Consolidated Fund of a State.
- This is aimed at supplementing the resources available to Panchayats and Municipalitieswithin the State, based on recommendations made by the State’s own Finance Commission.
Local Self Government:
- Local Government is the government at the district level and below.
- It is the government closest to common people.
- It is based on the assumption that local knowledge and local interest are essential components for people.
- Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in India began with the Madras Municipal Corporation in 1687, followed by Calcutta and Bombay in 1726.
- Lord Ripon’s 1882 resolution introduced democratic municipal governance.
- Post-independence, local self-government was assigned to the state list in the Indian Constitution.
- In 1953, U.P. established Municipal Corporations in five major cities, known as KAVAL Towns.
Ø 1882 Local Self Government (Resolution of 1882). |
Ø 1919 Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. |
Ø 1938 The Aundh Experiment. |
Ø 1940 Article 40 (Constitution of India). |
Ø 1957 Balwant Rai Mehta Committee Rajasthan Become First State to Adopt Panchyati Raj. |
Ø 1985 G.V.K. Rao Committee. |
Ø 1986 L.M. Singhvi Committee. |
Ø 1992 73rd & 74th Constitutional Amendment. |
Constitution of India:
Article 40. Local government is a state subject. Given constitutional status through 73rd and 74th amendment act.
Legal Provisions for Local Bodies’ Elections:
Constitutional Provisions:
- The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of the electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the panchayats and municipalitiesshall be vested in the State Election Commission (SEC).
- The 74thConstitutional Amendment bars the interference by courts in the electoral matters of municipalities.
Article 243U through the 74th Constitution Amendment Act mandates a five-year tenure for urban local governments.
2.When conservation clashes with livelihood
Context:
- The recent rain-related disasters have brought back into focus the K. Kasturirangan panel report that recommended declaring 37% of the total Western Ghats region as an ecologically sensitive area,
- Including 20,668 km in Karnataka, spanning over 1,576 villages in 10 districts.
- The implications of this on livelihoods have, yet again, left people sharply divided, finds.
Displaced Families Settled in Forest:
- Visitors to Shettihalli, a village located amid thick forests about 20 km away from Shivamogga town in central Karnataka, have to pass through a check post.
- The staff there enquire with them about the purpose of their visit and seek details of the persons they are planning to meet in the village.
- This is one of the villages that came to being after the construction of the Linganamakki dam across the Sharavati in the 1960s.
- A few families displaced from Sagar taluk due to the project meant to generate electricity for Karnataka were asked to settle amid the forest, which is now part of the Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary. Shettihalli is one of the villages that comes under the ecologically sensitive area of the Western Ghats as per the draft notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC)
- Shettihalli village, home to around 100 families, lacks basic amenities despite being near Shivamogga district headquarters.
- Residents only see KSRTC buses during elections, and until recently, had to walk to Shivamogga, even carrying patients for emergency healthcare.
- Displaced by the Sharavati hydroelectric project in 1963, the village only received electricity in 2023, but still lacks public transport and proper roads.
- Children study in the village only up to class 5, after which they move to residential schools, leaving mostly elderly residents in the village.
- There are concerns that the village may eventually become deserted due to the lack of youth and basic infrastructure.
Why blame one region?
- Global warming and climate change are the causes of the heavy rainfall that led to landslips and destruction. “We know the reasons for global warming.
Generating power by burning fossil fuels, dependence on petrol and diesel, cement production, and such activities cause global warming
3. Paris 2024 Olympics
No. | Athlete | Event | Sport | Medal |
1 | Manu Bhaker | Women’s 10m air pistol | Shooting | Bronze |
2 | Manu Bhaker-Sarabjot Singh | Mixed team 10m air pistol | Shooting | Bronze |
3 | Swapnil Kusale | Men’s 50m rifle 3 positions | Shooting | Bronze |
4 | Team India | Men’s event | Hockey | Bronze |
5 | Neeraj Chopra | Men’s javelin throw | Athletics | Silver |
