Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: Former Karnataka chief minister S.M. Krishna cremated with State honours, and more

Former Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna was accorded a State funeral complete with gun salute at his ancestral village of Somanahalli in Maddur taluk of Mandya district, on December 11, 2024. The body of Krishna was brought to his native village by road. Enroute, a large number of people paid their last respects to the departed leader at Kengeri, Bidadi, Ramanagaram, Channapatana, etc., before the convoy with Krishna’s coffin, reached Somanahalli for the last rites at 2.05 p.m.

After the completion of the State protocol, the national flag, which draped the body of Krishna, was respectfully removed and handed over to his wife, Prema. The traditional rites commenced soon after and the body was shifted from the coffin to a decorated bier and taken to the pyre. A battery of 15 priests, led by Bhanuprakash Sharma, officiated the last rites and the rituals were performed by Amartya Hegde, grandson of Krishna and son-in-law of Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar.

The Karnataka government has suffered a setback in the Palace Grounds case, as the Supreme Court on December 10, 2024, ordered it to issue fresh Transferable Development Rights (TDR) to the members of the Mysuru royal family, as per the guidance value of adjoining lands, in the next six weeks. With this order, the value of TDR to be given to the royal family is expected to exceed ₹2,000 crore.

The civic agencies had issued the royal family TDR worth ₹1 crore for 15 acres 17.5 guntas of land on Ballari Road and Jayamahal Road acquired for road widening. They claimed to have calculated the compensation based on Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1996, and not as per the Karnataka Stamps Act, 1957. However, members of the royal family challenged the valuation of the land. 

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has proposed a first-of-its-kind project to provide treated sewage water to Peenya Industrial Area, the largest industrial hub of Asia, for its non-potable needs. The project, estimated to cost ₹27.5 crore, was cleared by the Board and submitted to the State government, sources said. 

Under the proposed project, BWSSB will supply 4 Million Litres per Day (MLD) of treated water from its 40 MLD capacity Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Nagasandra, near Doddabidarakallu Lake. This STP is 4 km away from a BWSSB property in Peenya Industrial area.

Shivamogga Lok Sabha member B.Y. Raghavendra raised in Parliament the issue of people in Shivamogga, who have been waiting for a grant of land for decades after their lands were submerged for the Sharavathi Hydroelectric Project.