BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said on Thursday that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has given him some “good news” on the state’s long-pending dues. He. however, declined to share details of the “good news”.
Addressing the media after the GST Council meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, the CM said that he had raised Karnataka’s pending arrears with the Finance Minister.
Pressed for specifics, Shivakumar said, “I will not say anything more about it now. I will speak later.” He described the meeting as having gone “very well” and said members had accepted the points raised by Karnataka.
The Council also discussed whether criminal cases should be registered and arrests made against those who fail to pay GST. Shivakumar argued that the process should follow the rules and provisions applicable under the income tax law, and that officials should not arrest traders unnecessarily. Instead, he said, the amount due should be recovered from them. The discussion concluded that arrests were not appropriate, he said, with all states except one agreeing.
Shivakumar’s attendance also draws attention to an unusual feature of Karnataka’s governance. A highly placed source pointed out that Chief Ministers of large northern states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh do not usually hold the finance portfolio. In Karnataka, by contrast, CMs have often kept it themselves, a practice said to have been started by Ramakrishna Hegde, who preferred to hold Finance during his tenure. In the north, the source said, CMs tend to keep the Home portfolio, seen as the visible sign of power.
That choice has a practical cost.
Another highly placed source noted that it is difficult for chief ministers, with their busy schedules, to attend GST Council meetings every three or four months, and whether Shivakumar will attend all of them in the coming days remains to be seen.
On whether chief ministers can raise the issue of pending dues at such meetings, sources said GST Council meetings follow set agendas. If a member raises issues outside the listed agenda, those are referred to a committee that examines them. This suggests that Shivakumar’s talks with the Finance Minister on arrears may have taken place outside the formal agenda and he declining to share more details.
Release pending grant for ULBS: Yathindra to centre
Urban Development Minister Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah urged the Union government to release the pending grant under the 15th Finance Commission at the earliest for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the state. Dr Yathindra met Satyendra Singh, Secretary, Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, in New Delhi and submitted a memora-ndum seeking release of the pending grant to eligible ULBs.
For 2025-26, `1,385 crore has been allocated to Karnataka’s ULBs under the 15th Finance Commission. Of this, Rs 498 crore has been allocated to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), while `887 crore to the remaining 316 ULBs in the state, according to a statement from the minister’s office. Of this allocation, `299.74 crore is yet to be released to 93 ULBs that have met the eligibility norms.
