Bengaluru : The Karnataka government has decided to convene a three-day special session of the state legislature from September 21 to discuss the severe drought situation and the Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said on Thursday.
The three-day session will be exclusively devoted to the two subjects, with no Question Hour, Calling Attention or other regular legislative business, Parameshwara said while briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting.
“The Cabinet has decided to call a special session on September 21, 22 and 23,” he said.
The government wanted an extensive discussion on the distress being faced by farmers and the wider impact of the drought on the state’s economy and food security, he added.
Parameshwara said Karnataka had witnessed an exceptionally severe drought and there was a need to discuss its consequences in the Assembly.
He said the Kasturirangan report would also be taken up as the state had rejected it several times earlier, but debates over its recommendations continued.
“Once and for all, we want to inform the people about this. We will use the special session to discuss the Kasturirangan report as well,” he said.
The Kasturirangan Committee Report proposed designating 37 per cent of the Western Ghats (roughly 60,000 square kilometers) as an Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA) to balance environmental protection with regional development.
The Cabinet has also constituted two high-level ministerial bodies — a Group of Ministers (GoM) and for the first time in Karnataka, a Cabinet Sub-Committee on Political Affairs.
Parameshwara said the GoM would provide a forum for discussing important matters before they were placed before the Cabinet for a final decision. He noted that the system already exists at the Centre.
The Political Affairs Committee will be headed by CM D K Shivakumar, with Parameshwara as vice-chairman. Its members would be ministers K H Muniyappa, K J George, Priyank Kharge, Krishna Byre Gowda, Yathindra Siddaramaiah, U T Khader, Lakshman Savadi, Satish Jarkiholi and M B Patil.
The Cabinet has separately designated eight ministers as official government spokespersons — Parameshwara, Krishna Byre Gowda, Priyank Kharge, Santosh Lad, U T Khader, Eshwar Khandre, H C Balakrishna and Lakshman Savadi.
Parameshwara said the spokespersons would receive regular briefings on government decisions and their statements on government matters would be treated as official. Statements by other ministers, where they differ from the authorised position, would be considered their personal views.
“There is no chief spokesperson. All are spokespersons. All are equal,” he said.
The move, he said, was intended to ensure more coordinated communication and “qualitative administration”, while stressing that other ministers would continue to have the authority to speak.
