The State Budget, presented by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Thursday, appeared to have triggered a strong discontentment among people in Kalyana Karnataka as they feel that their region has been neglected.
It was widely expected that special grants to the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB) would have been increased from ₹1,500 crore to ₹2,500 crore and a separate Secretariat would have been established in Kalaburagi for the effective utilisation of funds and implementation of the special status accorded to the region under Article 371(J) of the Constitution.
However, there was no mention of either the increase in grants or the secretariat in the Budget.
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Budgetary allocation was also expected for the extension of the Narayanpur Right Bank Canal (NRBC) from the 120th mile to the 157th mile. However, there was no mention of it. No allocation has been made for the establishment of Raichur university which was announced in the previous Budget.
Building a balancing reservoir at Navale in Raichur district as a measure to compensate for the quantity of silt accumulated in the Tungabhadra Reservoir was also long-pending demand. Only ₹20 crore has been allocated for the preparation of the detailed project report.
Many projects were announced for the region in the previous Budget, such as an agricultural tool manufacturing unit in Bidar, the establishment of a jeans manufacturing hub in Ballari, the establishment of a Tourism University in Hampi, skill development centre in Kalaburagi. However, the current Budget did not mention them.
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“The BJP government showed more interest in renaming Hyderabad Karnataka as Kalyana Karnataka. However, it has not shown a similar interest in actually developing it. The gross negligence towards the region is clearly evident in the Budget. Mr. Yediyurappa provided ₹155 crore for the development of University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga. But, no amount has been earmarked for the University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur. The only satisfaction is that the government has decided to continue the implementation of the Dr. D.M. Nanjundappa panel recommendations at a cost of ₹3,060 crore,” Razak Ustaad, intellectual and activist, said.
“We had requested the government to establish special economic zones in Kalyana Karnataka region as a measure to trigger the industrial development in the backward region. But, there is no mention of that in the budget,” Amarnath Patil and Shashikanth Patil, president and secretary of Hyderabad Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said.