Supplementary budget: Karnataka government seeks Assembly nod for 6,280 crore

Belagavi: The Karnataka government on Tuesday sought the Legislative Assembly’s approval for a supplementary budget of Rs 6,280 crore to meet the demands of various departments.

Of this, the state government will spend Rs 3,421 crore towards demands raised by the departments, while Rs 2,240 crore has been covered under central assistance (total go out from the consolidated fund is Rs 5,661 crore).

Then, Rs 618 crore is met out of the Reserved Funds.

Of these, most of the funds have been sought towards road works and financial assistance towards sugarcane farmers of the state.

Road infra

While the state government has allocated Rs 434 crore towards central road and infrastructure fund, it has set aside Rs 300 crore towards the financial assistance of sugarcane farmers at Rs 50 per quintal, when supplied to sugar companies in Karnataka.

More interestingly, it has sought the legislature permission for an expenditure of Rs 6.4 crore incurred, and possible future expenditure, towards helicopter travel of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot.

Alongside this, Rs 11.6 crore has been allocated for the purchase of 71 vehicles, including 12 mini buses for various department officials, chief minister’s office personnel and Karnataka Lokayukta officials.

The government has also allocated Rs 14.5 crore as expenditure towards the ongoing Winter Session of the Legislature in Belagavi and another Rs 2 crore for coverage of the legislature proceedings.

The supplementary estimates include the travel expenditures incurred by the Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader and Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti of Rs 1 crore each during the 68th commonwealth parliamentary association (CPA) conference, apart from Rs 3.6 crore towards the 11th CPA conference.

In other expenditures, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has sought approval of the house for Rs 14 crore towards Bengaluru smart energy efficient power distribution to be considered as part of the money released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the same.

The estimates also claimed Rs 23.5 crore towards the grand celebration of Mysuru Dasara and another Rs 50 lakh for Tumakuru Dasara.

The government has also allotted Rs 10 crore for an upcoming trip of the Karnataka delegation to attend the world economic forum at Davos in Switzerland.