Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Circuit benches of High Court may not be ready next month

GULBARGA: Circuit benches of the Karnataka High Court in Dharwad and Gulbarga may not be ready in May as per the deadline owing to the delay in the completion of work on the court complexes.

According to information received here, the increase in the prices of steel and cement and other raw material has delayed the work on the complexes. They are expected to be ready by August or September. The expenditure on the Dharwad complex is likely to go up from Rs. 68 crore to Rs. 115 crore and on the Gulbarga complex from Rs. 65 crore to Rs. 101 crore owing to the changes in the designs and additional work suggested by the High Court.

The Chief Engineer (North zone) of the Public Works Department, Rudraiah, who was here on Friday to inspect the court complex, told The Hindu that the department had submitted revised estimates to the Government. Since the cost escalation proposed was more than Rs. 25 crore, it could not be settled at the secretary-level and would have to be approved by the Cabinet. The Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, Cyriac Joseph, had discussed the matter with Governor Rameshwar Thakur and a proposal in this regard would be approved at the earliest, sources said. Mr. Rudraiah, however, said that the work on the complexes had not been affected owing to the delay in getting approval from the Government for the cost-escalation proposal. The State Government would hand over five court halls and other structures, including five judges’ quarters, guesthouse and some staff quarters, by May end. He said the work on the complex in Dharwad was faster compared to that on the Gulbarga complex. Super structures of the proposed buildings had been completed, he added.

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