<p>The Karnataka Regional Imbalances Redressal Committee, headed by economist M Govinda Rao, has delivered a damning diagnosis of the state’s development model. </p><p>After spending Rs 32,610 crore over 15 years to correct regional disparities, Karnataka today has more backward taluks than before – 177 out of 236. This is not merely a policy failure; it is an indictment of political and administrative incompetence. The disparities are stark and indefensible. </p><p>Bengaluru Urban’s per capita income is nearly five times that of Kalaburagi. While the capital boasts of prosperity and opportunity, vast swathes of North Karnataka remain trapped in structural deprivation. The state’s growth has been spectacular, the report notes, but its benefits have been hoarded by a handful of districts.</p>.Karnataka backwardness report stokes concerns, stirs policy debate.<p>This verdict is particularly embarrassing because Karnataka is no stranger to expert advice. The Nanjundappa Committee report of 2002 had already mapped backwardness and proposed a Special Development Plan. Kalyana Karnataka was later granted constitutional backing under Article 371J, promising equitable funding, institutional focus, and reservations in education and employment. Yet, two decades later, the Govinda Rao Committee finds that backwardness has deepened. </p><p>The conclusion is unavoidable: interventions failed not for a shortage of money or legal cover, but for lack of seriousness. Politicians across parties have treated regional development as a slogan, not a mission. Funds were channelled into visible civil works that offered quick political dividends. Human capital was neglected. Schools without teachers and hospitals without doctors became the norm. Filling vacancies or building local economic ecosystems required sustained effort and political courage; awarding contracts required neither. The bureaucracy fared no better. Development boards degenerated into spending agencies with no strategic vision, little monitoring, and minimal accountability.</p>.<p>Crucially, the Committee shifts the conversation from expenditure to outcomes. Its proposed Rs-43,914 crore outlay between 2026 and 2031 is tied to per capita income, market access, skill development, and private investment – metrics that actually determine prosperity. It also recognises a hard truth: the government alone cannot deliver development. Regions must be enabled to attract enterprise, retain talent, and build on local strengths. Karnataka must discard symbolic spending and ceremonial schemes, and confront the governance deficit that has kept North Karnataka poor amid plenty. The report offers a roadmap. What remains to be seen is whether the political class has the will to follow it.</p>
<p>The Karnataka Regional Imbalances Redressal Committee, headed by economist M Govinda Rao, has delivered a damning diagnosis of the state’s development model. </p><p>After spending Rs 32,610 crore over 15 years to correct regional disparities, Karnataka today has more backward taluks than before – 177 out of 236. This is not merely a policy failure; it is an indictment of political and administrative incompetence. The disparities are stark and indefensible. </p><p>Bengaluru Urban’s per capita income is nearly five times that of Kalaburagi. While the capital boasts of prosperity and opportunity, vast swathes of North Karnataka remain trapped in structural deprivation. The state’s growth has been spectacular, the report notes, but its benefits have been hoarded by a handful of districts.</p>.Karnataka backwardness report stokes concerns, stirs policy debate.<p>This verdict is particularly embarrassing because Karnataka is no stranger to expert advice. The Nanjundappa Committee report of 2002 had already mapped backwardness and proposed a Special Development Plan. Kalyana Karnataka was later granted constitutional backing under Article 371J, promising equitable funding, institutional focus, and reservations in education and employment. Yet, two decades later, the Govinda Rao Committee finds that backwardness has deepened. </p><p>The conclusion is unavoidable: interventions failed not for a shortage of money or legal cover, but for lack of seriousness. Politicians across parties have treated regional development as a slogan, not a mission. Funds were channelled into visible civil works that offered quick political dividends. Human capital was neglected. Schools without teachers and hospitals without doctors became the norm. Filling vacancies or building local economic ecosystems required sustained effort and political courage; awarding contracts required neither. The bureaucracy fared no better. Development boards degenerated into spending agencies with no strategic vision, little monitoring, and minimal accountability.</p>.<p>Crucially, the Committee shifts the conversation from expenditure to outcomes. Its proposed Rs-43,914 crore outlay between 2026 and 2031 is tied to per capita income, market access, skill development, and private investment – metrics that actually determine prosperity. It also recognises a hard truth: the government alone cannot deliver development. Regions must be enabled to attract enterprise, retain talent, and build on local strengths. Karnataka must discard symbolic spending and ceremonial schemes, and confront the governance deficit that has kept North Karnataka poor amid plenty. The report offers a roadmap. What remains to be seen is whether the political class has the will to follow it.</p>
