N Karnataka sidelined in rail plans: KCCI

hubli: the stand of the state government and the railway authorities that the north karnataka proposals were not ``economically viable when compared to the projects in old mysore region'''' has invited sharp criticism from the chamber of commerce and industry (kcci). this decision was the outcome of a discussion held among chief secretary of karnataka theresa bhattacharya, principal secretary to the department of infrastructure krishna kumar and chairman of the railway board r.n.malhotra. expressing concern over the stand taken by the state and union governments, kcci president madan desai said the proposed hubli-ankola rail line, gadag-hutgi-sholapur gauge conversion, hospet-guntakal line doubling have been sidelined. harihar-kottur and hassan-mangalore projects were given top priority in the recent railway budget, he added. ``it is not only shocking but also indicates of the ignorance of the people in high places who represent the state,'''' he said adding: ``hubli-ankola rail line has a high revenue potential by virtue of possible diversion of rich iron ore, granite, bauxite for export from karwar, belekeri and marmugao ports. madan desai wanted to know if viability was the main concern of the planners, then why the hubli-ankola new railway line project was sidelined. ``it was prime minister a.b. vajpayee who had inaugurated the work for this project in 1999.'''' the kcci has sought clarification form the government in this regard. madan desai further said: ``if our apprehensions are correct, then we will be forced to conclude that north karnataka is kept beyond the pale of development schemes of the government.'''' property valuation: the kcci and citizens'' forum of hubli has demanded reduction in zonal rates coming within the hubli-dharwad municipal corporation (hdmc) with regard to valuation of properties and stamp duty. kcci president and citizen''s forum secretary-general anant huilgol held a discussion on the issue with hubli tahsildar and deputy commissioner kapil mohan. the delegation brought to the notice of the officials that the state government has reduced the valuation of properties coming under municipal corporation limits of bangalore and mysore by 40 per cent three years back. according to kcci, real estate value is not healthy in hubli-dharwad as many flats are found vacant in multi-storied buildings and open plots are left unsold. the escalation of zonal rates every year has resulted in unprecedented rise in the value of properties, kcci president madan desai said. it is unfortunate that the hdmc has decided to take zonal rates fixed by the deputy commissioner and registrar for arriving at the taxable value for the properties.