44% guarantee funds spent on North K’taka: CM

CHief government minister Siddaramaiah on fri told the say assemblage that 43.63% of the number expenditure on the state government’s five guarantee schemes had gone to beneficiaries in North Karnataka, in a bid to counter the opposition’s criticism that the region and its farmers were neglected by the state government.The region accounted for 29.6 million of the state’s estimated total population of 69.5 million, he said, adding that the M Govinda Rao committee, constituted to assess the current condition of the region, was likely to submit its report in January. “We had given time till November, but they have sought two more months... Once the report comes, we will receive it and try to implement it,” he said.The chief minister added that the government would emphasise diary farming in the Kalyana Karnataka region from the coming year to help close the financial disparity gap that he said the state suffered despite having the highest per capita income in the country— ₹3.39 lakh per annum. The per capita income in Bengaluru Urban was ₹7.38 lakh, whereas in Kalaburagi, it stood at ₹1.43 lakh.Recalling the long struggle for special provisions for the Kalyana Karnataka region, Siddaramaiah said LK Advani, during his tenure as deputy Prime Minister (the post was permanently vacated after his tenure) had opposed Article 371 (J) when it was first sought by then- chief minister SM Krishna, arguing that other states would raise similar demands. He noted that the provision was eventually implemented in 2012 during the UPA regimeand said, “Because of that, from 2014 to 2024, 10,000 medical students, 31,000 engineering students and 12,000 dental, homeopathy etc got admission.”Stressing the need to strengthen education and health infrastructure in the region, Siddaramaiah said the government would examine and implement the Prof Chaya Devadagaonkar committee report, adding that it would take 5 to 6 years for the educational situation in North Karnataka to show substantial improvement.The chief minister’s remarks came in his reply to the debate on North Karnataka, a day after the cabinet cleared a ₹3,500 crore development package for North Karnataka, signalling a renewed focus on long pending regional demands. Of this, ₹1,503 crore has been earmarked for irrigation projects, underlining the government’s emphasis on supporting the agrarian economy of the drought prone region.The cabinet also approved a Bill on judicial reforms at the district level, which will be tabled in the legislature, while deferring a decision on the politically sensitive issue of internal reservation in promotions. No timeline was announced for revisiting the matter.In the same meeting, administrative approval was granted for 3 packages under a Public Private Partnership model to transport and process construction material within the Greater Bengaluru area. Each package will handle 750 tonnes per day, totalling 2,250 tonnes, at an estimated cost of ₹1,715 crore over 15 years.The cabinet also cleared the long pending elevated corridor project in Belagavi, a key initiative of the public works department.During his reply to the debate, Siddaramaiah sharply criticised the Union government over pending funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.“They have changed the name now. They shot Gandhi dead once. They’ve killed him again,” he said, drawing objections from Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka, who demanded that the remark be expunged.The chief minister also said the state had decided to acquire land for the Upper Krishna Project in one stretch and that funds would be provided in the coming Budget.