Difficult to get funds for development works because of guarantees, says Karnataka CM's economic advisor

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's economic advisor Basavaraj Rayareddi has said that huge allocations to the five guarantees of the state government have made it difficult to get funds for developmental works.

The Congress MLA from Yelburga in Koppal district was speaking at a farmers’ meeting after launching work at a lake at Mangaluru village in his Assembly segment.

"The Chief Minister has made me his economic advisor, and as I interact with him daily, this money has come (for the lake project), or else it wouldn't have come...impossible. This is the only work that is happening in the entire state, because guarantees will itself finish things... Rs 60,000-Rs 65,000 crore we have to spend for it (guarantees). I know how difficult it is, internal finance" Rayareddi said.

Opposition BJP and JD(S) have been accusing the Congress government in the state of not taking up any developmental works, because of the large spending to fulfil the guarantees promised by the party during the Assembly elections.

Reacting to Rayareddi's claims, Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar has said "there are no difficulties, we are streamlining. We have fulfilled our promises. We will continue the guarantee schemes...."

"...we did not bring in guarantee schemes for votes, it was with an intention to improve the quality of lives of the people, who were suffering with price rise. We are confident that people will cooperate with us," Shivakumar said.

Siddaramaiah has set aside Rs 52,009 crore for his government's flagship five guarantee schemes in the current financial year.

The five guarantee schemes are: 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), payment of cash in lieu of the additional 5 kg of rice to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for diploma holders for two years (YuvaNidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti).