Raghupati Bhat, MLA, said on Saturday that the State Government had allocated Rs. 397 crore for the welfare of minority communities for 2011-12.
He was speaking at a function here to distribute cheques to beneficiaries of various schemes of the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation (KMDC).
Mr. Bhat said the previous Congress and Janata Dal governments had allocated only up to Rs. 45 crore per annum in the budgets presented by them. But after B.S. Yeddyurappa became Deputy Chief Minister (he held Finance portfolio), he allocated Rs. 140 crore for the welfare of minorities in 2006.
After Mr. Yeddyurappa became Chief Minister, there was constant increase in the allocation of funds for the welfare of minority communities. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government earmarked Rs. 167 crore in the 2008-09 Budget, Rs. 172 crore in 2009-10 Budget, and Rs. 252 crore in 2010-11 Budget, Mr. Bhat said. The Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) leaders, who portrayed themselves as the sole representatives and protectors of minority communities, had done nothing more than offering lip sympathy to them, he alleged. The KMDC had formulated various programmes for the welfare of minority communities. “The KMDC has taken its programmes to the doorsteps of members of the minority communities in the State,” Mr. Bhat said.
Chairman of KMDC N.B. Aboobakkar said that the BJP Government provided financial help of Rs. 186 crore to 1,22,217 beneficiaries from minority communities in the past three years. The Government had provided Rs. 56 crore to 33,599 students under “Arivu” scheme. A sum of Rs. 36 crore had been provided to 40,732 members of 2,794 women's self help groups (SHGs) in the State. The KMDC, which had its offices only in seven districts earlier, now had it in all the districts of State, he said.
The head office of KMDC in Bangalore had been renovated and computerised at a cost of Rs. 75 lakh. A Haj Ghar was being constructed in Bangalore at a cost of Rs. 40 crore. A sum of Rs. 18 crore had been released as the first instalment for the construction of Haj Ghar. A sum of Rs. 50 crore had been given for schemes for the welfare of Christians, Mr. Aboobakkar said. Kota Srinivas Poojary, MLC, Chairman of the Task Force for the Implementation of Third Finance Commission Report A.G. Kodgi, president of the zilla panchayat Katapady Shankar Poojary, and vice-president of the Udupi City Municipal Council Bharati Chandrashekhar were present.
