Bangalore, May 07: Karnataka cabinet today cleared the long awaited Rs 5000 crore Metro Rail project and approved signing of an MoU with the Centre for implementing that. State Minister for Information Kagodu Thimmappa told reporters that it had been decided to tie up with national or international agencies for funding.
Karnataka would be contributing Rs 1572 crore, the Centre Rs 1079 crore and rs 2338 crore would be raised in the form of loans, he said. The cabinet approved a proposal to extend mobile phone facility to all its 47 ministers and 22 principal secretaries of various government departments at a cost of Rs 36 lakh.
Thimmappa said while ministers get Rs 5000 reimbursement monthly, the secretaries would get Rs 3000 towards mobile phone bills. The state government decided to merge its five loss making silk filature units into two units and regularise the services of 327 doctors who have been currently working on contract since five years.
Under the Rs 15 crore grant extended to the state by the European Logistic Programme, the government would construct 14 godowns at the rate of one for two districts to facilitate storing of medicine stocks and other equipment required for hospitals. Bureau Report