The Cabinet meeting held in Mangaluru on Friday gave administrative approval for an expenditure of ₹151.31 crore to purchase ballot boxes and for live webcasting during the panchayat raj elections, which are long overdue.
Briefing media persons after the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara said the government intends to hold panchayat raj elections to zilla, taluk and gram panchayats in December this year.
Earlier, the State Cabinet decided to bring an amendment through the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to reintroduce ballot papers in local body elections. The Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Act, 2026, was notified in April 2026 after receiving the Governor’s assent.
Mr. Parameshwara said the Election Commission of India has 40,000 ballot boxes, while the remaining 1.20 lakh ballot boxes will have to be purchased to conduct the panchayat raj elections. The ₹151.31 crore allocation is meant for the purchase of ballot boxes and live webcasting.
Venkateshwara Swamy temple construction
The Cabinet approved granting 10 acres to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Andhra Pradesh, to build a Venkateshwara Swamy temple and a Kalyana Mantapa at Badaga Ekkar village in Surathkal hobli near Mangaluru.
It decided to grant 7.30 acres of land to St. Lawrence Church, Attur, in Nitte village of Karkala taluk in Udupi district.
The Cabinet also decided to sanction 6.51 acres of land to Gurudharma Pracharana Sabha, under the Shivagiri Mutt of Keralam, at Navoor village in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada.
The meeting further decided to spend ₹20 crore to upgrade Mangala Stadium in Mangaluru to international standards. In addition, it decided to lay a synthetic track at Udupi District Stadium at a cost of ₹10 crore.
It granted ₹10 crore for the construction of a boundary wall for the newly built district prison near Balepuni, on the outskirts of Mangaluru.
Karwar airport development
The Cabinet gave administrative approval to revise the cost of the Karwar Airport Development Project from ₹98.24 crore to ₹250.05 crore.
Mr. Parameshwara said it has been decided to extend the length of the runway from the present 2,000 metres to 3,250 metres to enable the operation of aircraft such as Airbus A320.
The project will help in the development of tourism and commercial activities, he said.
