Back-to-back breakfast meetings between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar seem to have helped Congress buy some time to resolve the contentious leadership issue. While that could resurface any time to haunt the party, for now, it hopes to deny the opposition a potent weapon during the winter session of the state legislature in Belagavi and ensure the issue doesn’t dominate the proceedings.
The 10-day session starting on Monday is important for the ruling party to send out a message that governance is not affected by the power struggle and that they are united in taking on the BJP-JDS combine. The opposition, on its part, sees an opportunity to expose chinks in Congress’ unity and drive home the point that governance has indeed taken a backseat.
However, beyond mere party politics, the session offers an opportunity for the government and members cutting across party lines to demonstrate their commitment to addressing long-standing concerns about regional imbalance in the state.
The North Karnataka issues should be discussed in detail on priority, instead of keeping the subject towards the end of the session. The issues related to North Karnataka aren’t necessarily meant to be discussed only in Belagavi, but since the entire government machinery shifts to the region once a year with a specific purpose, members cutting across parties and regions should brainstorm measures to ensure equitable development of the state. Along with that, other major issues must also get due importance during the session.
To ensure that the session is not ritualistic but result-oriented, the government must also present an Action Taken Report (ATR) on the discussions held during previous sessions.
The ATR should not be a mere bureaucratic exercise, but reflect the government’s commitment. Such reports may help reinforce public confidence and take discussions in the Legislative Assembly and Council more seriously.
In the 2024 winter session, during the debate on North Karnataka, 49 legislators spoke for over 13 hours on issues ranging from industries, health, education, irrigation and basic amenities in 14 districts in Kalaburagi and Belagavi divisions.
In response to the debate, the CM admitted that the majority of legislators felt the region had not seen the expected development, despite allocating additional funds, excluding regular grants, since 2007 for the implementation of the DM Nanjundappa committee recommendations.
Efforts by successive governments, especially elected representatives from the region, have yielded results to a certain degree, and the region has witnessed some development in the past two decades or so. A few cities like Belagavi, Hubballi and Kalabugari have experienced tremendous economic activity.
They have airports, well-connected rail and road routes, and several higher education and healthcare institutions. But the question is whether all cities and towns in the region have developed in equal measure? Why do most parts of the rural areas still lag behind in development? The lack of employment opportunities in the region is a big concern. It also results in large-scale migration.
A lot remains to be done in school education and healthcare in rural areas. Even today, across several villages in Kalyan Karnataka, locals rely on medical practitioners without formal qualifications. In SSLC and Second PUC results, North Karnataka districts often fare poorly compared to the Southern and Coastal Karnataka regions. A lot needs to be done in many sectors.
The high-level committee for redressal of regional imbalance, chaired by Dr M Govinda Rao, would have perhaps looked at all these aspects. Now, two years after the first announcement of the formation of the committee, it is expected to submit its report soon.
However, the question is not about the government’s announcements or recommendations by committees, but the pace at which the system functions. In December 2023, the CM announced the formation of the committee. It almost took a year to do so. In December 2024, the CM stated that after getting the report, they would take measures to implement its recommendations.
While the CM may include the committee recommendations in his next Budget, the government should also consider shifting the offices of some top officials in a few key departments to Kalyan Karnataka and Kittur Karnataka regions.
The government had earlier decided to shift some offices to North Karnataka, but that hardly seems to have achieved the purpose. Shifting senior IAS officers, even on a rotation basis, would help them get a firsthand understanding of the situation. It would also help take the administration and governance closer to the people.
In an increasingly interconnected world, ensuring smooth coordination between departments would not be an issue, even if some of those senior officers sit hundreds of kilometres away from the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. It may seem like a drastic suggestion, but how many senior officers or even ministers holding key portfolios, excluding those from the region, visit North Karnataka regularly?
Development of the region needs a whole-of-government approach and active participation from MLAs and MLCs from across the state. Legislators from the region need to be more assertive, vocal and united in putting forward their demands for development.While it is naive to expect that politicians keep politics away to discuss only development, but politics should not be allowed to completely deflect focus from development.