Karnataka govt stops civic works worth Rs 642 crore

The state government has put on hold special grants allocated to Ramanagara, Channapatna, Holenarsipura, Srirangapatna - all JD(S) strongholds - and many other local bodies and constituencies, amid speculation that funds are being diverted for flood relief or to BJP-ruled segments.

Totally, civic works sanctioned by the previous Congress-JD(S) regime worth Rs 642 crore to 139 local bodies across the state have been put on hold. These are works that are yet to start, the Urban Development Department has said in a letter to the Directorate of Municipal Administration.

The directive to stop the works has come from the Finance department, of which Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa is in charge.

These are the funds the government-sanctioned to various local bodies and Assembly constituencies under special grants of the State Finance Commission (SFC). Works worth at least Rs 30 crore sanctioned to Holenarsipura, represented by H D Revanna of the JD(S), have been put on hold. Likewise, Rs 30 crore given for civic works in the JD(S)-ruled Dasarahalli and Rs 10 crore in Ramanagar Assembly segments have been halted. Having said that, works sanctioned in BJP-ruled segments, although smaller in amount, have been stopped.

The Congress and the JD(S) have been complaining that the Yediyurappa administration has cut development grants to constituencies represented by their legislators.

It is said that Yediyurappa, the finance minister, is looking to reprioritise expenditure in order to mobilise resources to rebuild the flood-hit areas, where the government has estimated losses to the tune of Rs 35.160.81 crore. Pressure is mounting on the government to act fast on resettlement of those displaced by the floods, given that the Centre is yet to release aid.

The government has already identified Rs 1,157 crore that it can divert towards flood relief from the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan (SCP-TSP) kitty. Earlier this month, the government kept in abeyance over 6,000 projects of the Public Works Department (PWD) worth Rs 4,500 crore. While PWD sources said the government was looking to use some portion of the funds for flood relief, the Finance department maintained that the moratorium will be lifted after the government finished “scrutiny” of the projects.

The chief minister has also been using his discretion to sanction funds to BJP MLAs for constituency development by cutting allocation made to Opposition MLAs.