BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah informed the Council that the state faced a revenue deficit owing to non-cooperation from the Union Government and it not releasing the state’s share of funds.
“In the Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra project. The Centre had also set aside Rs 3,000 crore each to develop Bengaluru lakes and the peripheral ring road for the city. Also, a special grant of Rs 5,695 crore was sanctioned. All this put together, we had to get Rs 11,495 crore, but not a single rupee has been released so far,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah further said that even former CM Basavaraj Bommai had praised Sitharaman for granting funds for the Upper Bhadra project, and said his government would request the Centre to declare it a national project. But nothing has happened to date, the CM said.
“I met Nirmala Sitharaman four times. She just says she will give funds, but has not done it. If the Centre had given our share of funds, we would not have faced a revenue deficit,” he said, urging Narayanaswamy to lead an all-party delegation to the Centre seeking funds.
Taking a dig at the Opposition for calling his record 17th budget a deficit one, he said, “Karnataka’s revenue deficit is at Rs 22,597 crore, and it is within the average set by the finance commission. We are at a 2.8% revenue deficit, and that is due to the Centre not giving us our share,” he said.