Chief Minister Siddaramaiah spealking in the Legislative Assembly, in Bengaluru on Thursday.
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Under attack from the Opposition for Karnataka giving ₹10 crore as flood relief in Wayanad in Kerala, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday defended the expenditure on the grounds that it was a humanitarian gesture. He also defended spending another ₹10 crore on Sadhana Samavesha in Hospete.
“Wayanad witnessed heavy rainfall and landslips and hundreds of people died. Should we not be humane? It is our dharma and responsibility to help,” the Chief Minister said during the discussion on the Money Bill for supplementary estimates of ₹3,352.57 crore before it was passed in Legislative Council on Thursday.
In Assembly too, the gesture towards Wayanad came under attack and Leader of Opposition R. Ashok wondered why Karnataka did not show similar large heartedness towards other calamity-hit States. “The Chief Minister is giving ₹10 lakh to build each house in Kerala, while those in our own State get a meagre sum of ₹95,000 to build their houses during calamity,” said Mr. Ashok.
On the expenditure for Sadhana Samavesha, the Chief Minister said, “Should we not tell the people as to what we have done? It was an event to showcase the achievement of our two-year governance.” The Opposition, debating this issue in Assembly, called it “Congress party programme.”
What it proposes
Constituting 0.78 % of the budget, the supplementary estimates proposes ₹2,552 crore as revenue expenditure and ₹ 790 crore towards capital expenditure. The Chief Minister said that the State was expecting ₹820.20 crore from the Centre and ₹262.20 crore from the reserve fund. “The total outgo will be ₹2,269 crore. We will try to increase the revenue receipts and make reappropriation. If needed, we will take loan. This is the first instalment (of supplementary estimates),” the Chief Minister said.
According to him, of the total, ₹1,500 crore will go into the guarantee redemption fund (GRF) that is set aside as per the RBI guidelines as surety for loans raised by the public undertakings. “Five per cent of of the total debt raised by the public undertakings has to be in the GRF as per RBI guidelines. Currently, the fund has ₹760 crore, whereas the total guarantees given by the State is for debt amounting to ₹46,271 crore.”
When the BJP members raised the issue of “diversion” of funds from SCP/ TSP, the Chief Minister said, “We were the ones to bring the SCP/TSP Act. Show me one BJP-ruled State that has brought similar plan. I urge the Centre to spend development expenditure according to the population of the SCs.” The Bill was eventually passed amid the din.
Published – August 22, 2025 01:05 am IST
