Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa on Friday announced the setting up of a joint legislature committee to form a draft master plan on the requirement of railway services for the state. “The Committee would submit its report within six months,” he said.

BSY added that the Committee would also prioritise pending railway projects and chalk out plans for new railway lines in various parts of the state.

The announcement was made after JD(U) leader Dr Mallanagowda Nadagowda said that there was not much being done to improve the railways.

Even after initiation of special proxy voting facility by the election commission of India, the armed forces personnel posted in Sriganganagar seemed least interested in it and have rather opted for inclusion of their name in the general voter’s list for the Lok Sabha polls.

The district election officer had also recently asked the army and BSF officials stationed in Sriganganagar to make aware the personnel about the new facility. However, the 500 applications from Sadhuwali and Lalgarh Jatan cantonment in Sriganganagar have surprised the election officials as these were for inclusion of names of the personnel in the general voter’s list and not for proxy voting, said an official posted in the election office at Sriganganagar.

Raj’s election dept identified as ideal for other states

Like on the first day of the session, the opposition Congress staged a walkout from the House also on the last day on Friday. This time, however, the protest was over a resolution relating to the crude oil royalty from the Centre.

Industry minister Saurabh Patel brought in a resolution alleging that the UPA government was not giving the rightful crude royalty of Rs1,500 crore to Gujarat. Patel, in his resolution, said the state had received a royalty of Rs508.15 crore and Rs589.62 crore during 2000-01 and 2001-02, and Rs1,881 crore and Rs1,719 crore during 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively.

As the vote-on-account session ends, DNA sums up what transpired in the House on the last day

As the special vote-on-account session that began on February 17 came to an end on Friday, the BJP government announced five industrial incentive schemes in the state assembly under rule 44 of the House. These schemes come after nearly two months of the announcement of the new industrial policy 2009.

The House on Friday cleared the Special Investment Region (SIR) Bill 2009 for which an ordinance was passed earlier by the government. Minister of state for industry & finance Saurabh Patel proposed the bill which was cleared by majority.

The state government has already notified Dholera-Ahmedabad SIR region and has also received Rs1,00,000 crore investment proposals in the recently concluded Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit 2009.

It has also identified other five SIR regions —Vadodara-Ankleshwar, Palanpur-Mehsana, Surat-Hazira, Valsad-Umergam, Bharuch-Dahej. An investment region will be developed in area of more than 100 sq km while industrial area will be developed in area of more than 50 sq km.