Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on the problems faced by the State due to cuts in financial grants for centrally-sponsored schemes.
“There has been a substantial reduction in allocation by the Centre for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, National Horticulture Mission, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and other schemes. An amount of Rs. 11,689 crore was expected from the Centre as grant for these schemes in the year 2015-16, against which Rs. 7,000 crore will be available. The State government has to bear an additional Rs. 4,689 crore owing to the decision taken by the Centre. The Centre will be apprised on the problems faced by the State in mobilising the additional amount,” he told presspersons in Bhadravathi city on Saturday.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said he was satisfied with the rate of enhancement in the estimate of State-planned expenditure. The State Plan estimate, which was at Rs. 65,600 crore last year, has been enhanced to Rs. 72,597 in the budget of the year 2015-16 recording 10.6 per cent growth, he said.
He said priority has been accorded to develop a professional and scientific perspective towards agriculture among farmers. A vision group on agriculture and horticulture will be set up, entrusted with the responsibility of preparing a roadmap for the growth of these sectors, in coming days. A centre for excellence to impart training for farmers on efficient utilisation of water, integrated farming practices for dry land agriculture and on adopting scientific cropping systems will be established, he said.
