Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah slams Centre for withholding grants for key projects

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday slammed the Centre for "not releasing the announced grants" for the state, which include funds for the Bhadra dam project, pensions for poor, elderly citizens and the needy, and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Siddaramaiah chaired a review meeting of the functioning of District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committees (DISHA), a government initiative that seeks to promote participative governance and deliberative democracy.

The committee members suggested that efforts should be made to bring the central share to the state.

Siddaramaiah reiterated that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in the budget that Rs 5,300 crore would be given for the Bhadra Upper River Project, but till now, the state has not received even a rupee.

The Upper Bhadra Project aims to irrigate approximately 2.25 lakh hectares across the districts of Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Davangere, and Tumakuru, utilising around 19 tmcft of water.

Additionally, the project plans to replenish over 350 tanks with 10.8 tmcft of water and enhance the capacity of the Vani Vilas reservoir.

The CM said that in the 15th Finance Commission, a special grant of Rs 5,495 crore should have been provided by the Centre, including money for the lake and the peripheral ring road, totalling Rs 11,495 crore, but the state has not received any amount.

"Even though we pay Rs 4.5 lakh crore in taxes from the state, not even a small amount of aid comes to the state from the Centre. They do not give money even for centrally funded projects, but you accuse the state government of not having money for development," the chief minister said during the meeting.

Under the social security scheme, the state grant for widow pension, old age pension, and disabled pension schemes is Rs 5,665.95 crore, while the central grant is Rs 559.61 crore, but only Rs 113.92 crore has been released by the Centre, Siddaramaiah said.

He asked how to manage if the Centre cuts the grants meant for social schemes as well.

He mentioned that he met Sitharaman twice and made a request, but claimed she did not pay heed to it.

Siddaramaiah came down heavily on the Members of Parliament from Karnataka for "being silent".

"You (MPs) should try together to release the grants within a stipulated time. You should not try to shrug your responsibility," the CM said in the meeting.

Speaking about various pensions given by the state, Siddaramaiah said the state government gives a total of Rs 5,665 crore in pensions, while the central government contributes Rs 559 crore.

"The central government is not able to give even this small amount. The Centre has kept this pending for two years. Why is this so?" he alleged.

Further, he charged that the pensions due from the central government have not been given to the state for two years.

"The names of Prime Minister Modi and the Centre are on most of the projects funded by the state government. However, not even a fraction of the Centre's money is coming. Shouldn't you (MPs) question this continuous injustice?" Siddaramaiah asked.

He shared details of the letters sent by the state government to the Centre, union ministers, and the prime minister, and read them during the meeting to highlight various issues and draw the MPs' attention.

Officials brought to Siddaramaiah's notice that the funds under the MGNREGS have not yet been received from the Centre They also informed the meeting about the pending central pension funds of various types.

Siddaramaiah instructed officials that the MGNREGS action plan should be prepared within three months.

He also instructed them that if, for any reason, the previous action plan is missing, it should be included in the next one.

Siddaramaiah also instructed them to take legal action and file a criminal case against the officials who committed irregularities in the MGNREGS scheme in the state.

The chief minister pointed out that the state's grant under the centrally sponsored schemes for the year 2024-25 is Rs 24,960 crore. The central share in those schemes is Rs 22,758 crore, of which only Rs 18,561 crore has been released by the Centre, while Rs 4,195 crore is still pending, according to the CMO.

Officials also said that the Centre has not released Rs 7,656 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 3,233 crore in 2024-25 under the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme.

Jal Jeevan Mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to provide potable tap water to all rural households by 2024, was discussed by Sitharaman in her Budget speech, where she revised the completion target to 2028.