Pramesh S Jain
Siddaramaiah Cabinet gives in principle approval for Guarantee schemes
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that our Government has kept its promise and the Cabinet has in principle approved the 5 Guarantee schemes announced in the Election Manifesto.
He was addressing the media about the decisions taken in the first cabinet meeting he convened after assuming office.
It is estimated that Rs.1200 crore is required to implement Griha Jyoti scheme,to provide 200 Unit free power to every household.
Rs.2000 per month will be transferred to the head woman of the family,10 kg rice will be given under Anna Bhagya and Rs.3000/- will be given to unemployed graduates and Rs.1500 to diploma holders who have passed out during current educational year for upto 2 years.
Women,who are residents of the State would be given free bus pass to travel in Government Buses.
Guidelines are being worked out in details and will be discussed in next cabinet meeting.
According to preliminary estimates,Rs.50,000 crore required annually,he said.
Chief Minister also added that information about Indira canteen is also being sought and they would be started soon.
Legislature Session
Cabinet has also decided to convene legislature session from May 22 to 24, 2023 and Budget will be presented in the month of July.
Promises Kept
During the previous term of our Government we had fulfilled 158 out of 165 promises made in the Election Manifesto.We have kept our promises.
Along with fulfilling the promises,we have implemented more than 30 new schemes such as Indira canteen, loan waiver,Vidya siri,Shoe Bhagya,Pashu Bhagya etc.Which were not included in the manifesto.
Rs.50,000 crore required to launch Guarantee schemes:
Opposition is misleading the people by stating that the Guarantee schemes we announced will make our state reel under huge debt and Prime Minister himself has stated in his Mann Ki Baat that economy will collapse and State will incur huge debts by launching such schemes.
But according to our calculations Rs.50,000 crore is required annually to implement these schemes and it is not impossible to mobilise resources.
The State budget size is Rs.3.10 lakh crore and it increases by around 10 per cent every year.We will present 3.25 lakh crore budget in July.
We will mobilise the additional Rs.15,000 crore by taking stringent measures to collect taxes, he said.
It is stated that mere Rs.50,000 crore has been allocated by 15th Finance Commission in this year’s budget, whereas we were entitled to get Rs. 1 lakh crore from the Central Government.
Previous Government lacked will to get the State’s share of grants from the Central Government. Karnataka contributes Rs.4 lakh crore taxes annually,he explained.
The previous Government and the MPs of the State have failed to get the special Grant in Aid of Rs.5495 crore, recommended by 15th Finance Commission in its interim report.
When former PM Manmohan Singh left office,the debt on the country was Rs.52,11,000 crore.
Today it has been increased to Rs.155 crore.During last 9 years Rs.102 lakh crore has been borrowed by Government of India.
By the end of our previous tenure in 2018, the debts on the State was Rs.2,42,000 crore. Our Government had borrowed Rs. 1,16,000 crore during 5 years.
But in 2023-24, the borrowings has increased to Rs. 5,64,000 crore.During the 4 year tenure, BJP Government has borrowed Rs,3,22,000 crore.
Our Government will ensure that all the guarantee schemes and other programmes will be implemented without causing financial crunch to the State exchequer.
During 2023-24, Rs.56,000 crore is required to repay the interest and principal amount of the debtsChief Minister was confident of launching new programmes, without affecting the economy, by taking stringent measures such as efficiency in tax collection, controlling unnecessary expenditure,avoiding borrowings etc.
