BENGALURU: CM Siddaramaiah, on Friday, termed the Opposition’s criticism of the state budget politically motivated. Responding to the debate on the discussions in the Assembly on the budget, the CM drew a parallel between the state’s financial situation and that of the Centre.
Siddaramaiah said that because of the economic slowdown at the national level, the state’s revenue slightly declined but it will improve. In 2024-25, Karnataka had expected revenue collection of Rs 1,89,893 crore and it was Rs 157,111 crore till February end, which is 87 %, he said. “It is likely to reach Rs 1,77,00 crore till end of March, but that is also slightly less than our expectations,” the CM said.
Economic developments in the country will also impact the state and a shortfall in revenue collections shows the economic slowdown in the country, he said. Even the Centre’s revenue generation declined by Rs 1.6 lakh crore, he said, amid sloganeering by BJP MLAs over the honey-trap issue.
Hitting out at the Centre for not giving the state its due share in taxes, the CM said in 2018-19, when the Central budget was Rs 24.42 lakh crore, the state got Rs 46,288 crore as tax share and Centrally-sponsored projects.
Now, when the Central budget size is Rs 50.65 lakh crore, Karnataka should have got Rs 1 lakh crore towards the tax share and Centrally-sponsored programmes. But, the state did not get its due share, he said.
On the allocations for development works and departments, the CM said they have allocated Rs 83,200 crore for capital expenditure and increased allocations for education, water resources, public works department, and minor irrigation departments.
The Chief Minister said over the next three years, Rs 54,000 crore will be provided for infrastructure development in Bengaluru. This year, the government will provide Rs 7,000 crore for Bengaluru development, he said.