Ramalinga Reddy with Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar after taking oath as a Minister during the swearing-in ceremony of the new Karnataka government at Lok Bhavan, in Bengaluru on June 3, 2026. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

Bengaluru:

The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday decided to increase the bus fares in the state-owned transport corporations by 15 per cent.

The decision was taken in view of the substantial hike in operational costs such as increase in spending on fuel prices and staff, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said.

The Minister told reporters here that the decision will come into effect from January 5. The move is expected to generate Rs 74.85 crore monthly and about Rs 784 crore annually.

“The cabinet has decided to revise the bus fare of the four state transport corporations — KSRTC, NWKRTC, KKRTC and BMTC by 15 per cent,” he said.

According to Mr Patil, the BMTC bus fares were increased on January 10, 2015 when the diesel prices were Rs 60.90 per litre.

“The daily diesel consumption was Rs 9.16 crore 10 years ago by the four corporations, which has now increased to Rs 13.21 crore. The expenditure on staff in these four corporations was Rs 12.95 crore daily, which has increased to Rs 18.36 crore daily. Hence the revision was necessary,” he said justifying the hike.

The Minister also underlined that ‘Shakti’ guarantee will continue.

Shakti offers free ride for Karnataka women in state-owned non-luxury buses across the state.

In the current fiscal, Rs 5,015 crore has been earmarked for the ‘Shakti’ scheme, the Minister explained.

Mr Patil said, “Every month the state government is releasing Rs 417.92 crore grant to these four corporations. This will not be a burden on the state finance.” He added, “With the hike in bus fares across all the categories of bus services, neither the transport corporations will go bankrupt, nor government exchequer will go empty. Mind you, we are the best state in terms of managing finances.” Patil also said the state government has cleared all the provident fund dues to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore.

Regarding the decision he said, “We discussed about hike between 13 per cent and 15 per cent and the cabinet arrived at a decision of 15 per cent looking at the prices prevailing in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra. After the rise of 15 per cent, we will be lesser than any of these states.” The opposition BJP lashed out at the Congress government over its decision to hike bus fares.

In a post on X, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said, “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, with what face do you boast that you have given the five guarantee schemes to the people of the state? By failing to provide money for the Shakti Yojana, you have caused the transport company to tread the path of loss.” He said by increasing the bus fare by 15 per cent, the government line is that the bus travel is free for women, but it will definitely be a burden for men.

“The decision of the Congress government in Karnataka to increase the transport fare by 15 per cent is unscientific and anti-people and the BJP will raise its voice against this and support the people.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved the ambitious project of the Bengaluru Skydeck, set to be South Asia’s tallest structure, at a staggering cost of Rs 500 crores. This project will be a major boost to the city’s infrastructure and will provide a 360 degree view of the Indian tech capital.

The tower will be approximately 250 meters high. For reference, the Qutub Minar monument in Delhi stands at 73 meters tall, so something that is 250 meters tall would be over 3 times taller than the Qutub Minar.

CNTC Presidential Tower, believed to be  Bengaluru’s tallest building, has an estimated height of over 160 meters.

“Karnataka government has approved South Asia’s tallest Skydeck. The Skydeck will be built in the city at a cost of Rs 500 crore, which will show a 360 degree view of India’s technology capital,” Karnataka’s minister of law, parliamentary affairs HK Patil said.

The Skydeck, set to be built on the NICE Road in outer Bengaluru, will have world class facilities for tourists and will be connected to the metro rail so that tourists do not face any inconvenience while trying to reach.

Apart from a lavish shopping complex, other facilities included inside the Sky Deck have not been confirmed as of now.

The government initially wanted to build the Skydeck in the middle of Bengaluru but two big challenges arose. First, it was difficult to find 25 acres of land in the middle of the city and second, there are establishments of the Defense Ministry in many areas of Bengaluru city, which raised their objection to such a high tower.

Having an extremely tall-tower in the middle of the city could have posed a threat to civilians, military airports. Therefore, the Skydeck project has been approved for outer Bengaluru.

The Karnataka cabinet has also cleared a two way tunnel from Hebbal to Silkboard Junction in Bangalore at the whopping cost of 1269 thousand crores