Ten years after the creation of the Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board (earlier Hyderabad-Karnataka), the districts in the region still have among the lowest per capita income in the state.
According to data from the latest Karnataka Economic Survey, districts including Kalaburagi, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal and Yadgir, save for Ballari, have among the least per capita income. The data does not account for the recently created Vijayanagar district.
Per-capita income serves as a measure of the development of the district.
For instance, Kalaburagi has the least per capita income in the state at Rs 1.24 lakh. This is compared to Rs 6.2 lakh in Bengaluru Urban, which is the highest in the state.
Other districts of the region also fare poorly: Bidar (Rs 1.33 lakh), Koppal (1.39 lakh), Yadgir (Rs 1.39 lakh) and Raichur (Rs 1.44 lakh). Ballari has a relatively better per capita income at Rs 2.17 lakh.
Most of these districts also fall behind in their share of the GSDP.
A look at the Economic Survey in 2013-14 shows that not much has changed in terms of regional disparity. The Kalaburagi division had the least per capita income of Rs. 56,648 in the state in 2012-13 compared to Rs 1.09 lakh in the Bengaluru division.
A recent CAG report on the functioning of the Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board points out how the Board has failed in ensuring the region’s development. To begin with, it has failed to create its own indicators for development and depends on secondary data. As a result, it has failed to bring in specific policy interventions, the report has said, while pointing out several lacunae in usage of funds and implementation of development works.
Sindhanur MLA and JD(S) leader Venkatrao Nadagouda pointed out how the government’s idea of regional development is lopsided. “When they think of Kalyana Karnataka development, they only think of Kalaburagi. As a result, you will find only certain pockets receiving focus for infrastructure development.”
Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge said the creation of the Board itself has been crucial. “Owing to it, we have been able to identify areas for intervention,” he said. However, the region has been historically backward and it requires time to bring it on a par with the rest of the state, he added. “We need better management of funds. The last three years have been bad and the CAG report provides a testimony to this,” Kharge said.