Karnataka to set up commission to redraw ZP, TP constituencies
The Hindu
At least 2,000 pleas are pending before HC on ‘gross errors’ in Karnataka State Election Commission’s delimitation exercise
The Karnataka Cabinet on Saturday decided to establish a delimitation commission for delimitation of zilla and taluk panchayat constituencies in the State by amending the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993. With many lapses in the delimitation exercise undertaken by the Karnataka State Election Commission (SEC) and petitions related to the matter pending in the High Court of Karnataka, the Cabinet decided to set up the commission headed by a retired Additional Chief Secretary. Delimitation of constituencies is not the task of the SEC and it is wrongly perceived to be so, said Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy after the Cabinet meeting. The new commission would be aided by the Panchayat Raj Department and its Secretary would be a member while the Commissioner would be ex-officio member of the commission, he said.Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.