Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar unveils Delhi civil‑services centre, Prajaseve grievance unit and backs Bidadi township

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced multiple governance initiatives in Karnataka. He approved the construction of a dedicated Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore to house civil‑services aspirants, with half the seats reserved for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates. The cabinet also created a Prajaseve department to handle public grievances, assigning a minister and a senior IAS officer, and mandating weekly grievance meetings across all 224 assembly constituencies.

Shivakumar said a five‑member guarantee committee will be formed in each panchayat and ward, covering 7,000 panchayats and 4,000 wards, and announced plans to hold student elections in colleges starting this year, with reserved seats for women. He defended the controversial Bidadi township project, claiming Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy is its “architect”, offering farmers 50% of the developed land and compensation of Rs 2.5 crore per acre, and asserted that 80% of farmers have agreed to the acquisition.

During the same period, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge reprimanded party workers in Bengaluru for chanting Shivakumar’s name at a programme, calling them “useless fellows” and warning of disciplinary action. A charge‑taking ceremony for the new Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, B.K. Hariprasad, was also held in Bengaluru with Shivakumar and Kharge in attendance.