CM Siddaramaiah released rs 50 lakh each to legislators for local area development

Bengaluru: The Congress-led government in the state of Karnataka is grappling with the implementation of its ambitious five guarantees. However, the financial aspect of funding these guarantees poses a significant challenge. The government's coffers are primarily directed towards fulfilling these commitments, leaving legislators seeking funds for their constituencies in a difficult situation.

Many Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) have appealed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, urging them to allocate funds for constituency development. In response, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar informed the MLAs that there are limited resources available for disbursing development grants, making the situation complex.

To address the growing concerns and to pacify the disheartened MLAs, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah convened a meeting with 135 MLAs from 31 districts. In the meeting, the MLAs raised their grievances about the lack of funding for their initiatives. In response, the Chief Minister proposed a solution by introducing certain conditions for prioritizing and allocating funds based on the availability of grants. Following these discussions, the MLAs agreed to the proposed conditions, resulting in the release of funds.

As part of the initial installment under the MLA's Regional Development Scheme, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah allocated Rs 145 crore, with Rs 50 lakhs designated for each constituency. This funding was distributed among 224 constituency MLAs and 67 members of the Legislative Council. While this release temporarily eased the concerns among MLAs, questions linger about whether the underlying discontent will be fully addressed.

With the announcement of the five guarantees, the state government is grappling with an allocated budget of Rs 40,000 crore this year. This financial constraint led Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to indicate that there might not be ample funding available for constituency development this year. The situation led to increased dissatisfaction among the MLAs, prompting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to organize an urgent meeting. The outcome of this meeting saw the MLAs agreeing to the release of funds under specified conditions, demonstrating the intricate balance the government is trying to maintain between guaranteeing benefits and managing financial constraints.