Karnataka Budget 2018: Belagavi deserved more, feel opposition, industry bodies

The maiden budget of Chief Minister H D Kumarswamy has nothing specific for Belagavi.

H D Kumaraswamy presents budget on Thursday ( Photo | New Indian Express)

BELAGAVI: The maiden budget of Chief Minister H D Kumarswamy has nothing specific for Belagavi. However, a special allocation has been made for a super speciality hospital which is being built on the premises of Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS) and the work of which has already commenced.

According to sources, Belagavi will have super speciality treatment facilities in cardiac care, neurology, nephrology, urology, plastic surgery and paediatric surgery and will have a bed strength of 250. The estimated cost of the super speciality hospital is Rs 150 crore and the trauma centre is expected cost around Rs 30 crore. The project was planned in 2014, but it was presented in the current budget with a few upgrades.

Also the budget has reserved a fund of Rs 100 crore to provide irrigation facilities from the Krishna river covering about 10, 225 hectares land of Hirekodi, Nagarala, Nez and other villages of Chikkodi taluk in Belagavi district. Apart from this, Belagavi will be getting nothing from the budget.

Belagavi Rural MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar said for the first time in the history of the country, such a budget is presented which announced Rs 34,000 crore farm loan waiver.

“Besides this, additional Rs 6,500 crore is earmarked to facilitate the farmers to avail new loans after the government issues clearance certificate by waiving their arrears. It has reserved Rs 3,000 crore for Stree Shakti self-help groups. Under the scheme, each group will be getting a loan of Rs 5 lakh without interest and an additional Rs 5 lakh with 4 per cent interest rate.”

"Fund has been reserved to raise a 30-bed maternity hospital in my constituency, either at Belagundi village or Mutaga village. The budget also promised a super speciality hospital in Belagavi city. Though Belagavi deserves more, I wholeheartedly welcome the budget,” said Laxmi Hebbalkar, MLA, Belagavi Rural

“The budget has totally neglected North Karnataka region. It has only considered districts like Ramanagar and Hassan and it is an imbalanced budget. Belagavi is not at all considered in the budget,” Abhay Patil, MLA, Belgavi South

Disappointed industry body demands more funds

Expressing dissatisfaction over the budget presented by the Congress-JD(S) coalition government, Belgaum District Small Scale Industries Association demanded that the government allocate funds for industry bodies. Out of Rs 100 crore CM’s fund earmarked for Belagavi, 20 per cent can be reserved for industrial developments like re-carpeting of interior roads in industrial estates and for basic amenities.