JOIN USAhinda an eyewash, no money released for welfare: Shettar
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday said the Siddaramaiah government’s claim of giving thrust to the welfare of the deprived classes was an eyewash, as the Social Welfare Department had performed poorly during the last one year.
Participating in a discussion on the State budget proposals in the Legislative Assembly, Shettar said the Social Welfare Department had only achieved 43 per cent of the budgetary programmes for the year 2014-15. Of the Rs 2,969 crore earmarked for the department, Rs 1,189 crore had been released and only Rs 1,168 crore had been utilised till February-end this year.
Various schemes announced by the department had not been implemented effectively. “The State government claims to be the saviour of Ahinda (acronym for minorities, backward classes, dalit) but it is an eyewash,” Shettar said, and read out a volley of statistics to prove his claim (see box).
Shettar said the government was misleading the Ahinda communities by only announcing programmes, but letting them remain on paper. He said the budget lacked direction and Siddaramaiah had failed in keeping up to the aspirations of the people.
Slump in economy
Shettar said the growth of the State’s economy had slumped in 2014-15 despite the government borrowing Rs 42,329 crore in the last two years.
The growth has slid from 7.2 per cent in 2013-14 to 7 per cent in 2014-15 fiscal, he said. This shows the government has bungled with the money borrowed from open market. Asset creation, including investment on infrastructure, has taken a backseat, he charged.
The three BJP governments between 2008 and 2013 had together borrowed Rs 45,120 crore. But Siddaramaiah, who also holds the finance portfolio, has borrowed Rs 42,329 crore in just two years. “When Siddaramaiah was in the Opposition, he used to criticise the government for borrowing money from open market. Strangely, he is now justifying it,” he said.
The government has failed to mobilise resources in 2014-15 fiscal. The State is expected to fall short of Rs 5,000 crore in revenue collection. This will affect development, he said.