Hassan continues to receive special attention in H.D. Kumaraswamy’s budgets, but the proposals announced on Friday have been spread wider, seemingly as a response to allegations that the Janata Dal (Secular)-led coalition government “discriminates” against north and coastal Karnataka.
BJP and Congress members from north Karnataka had termed the budget presented in June 2018 as being “Hassan–Mandya centric” — for its alleged focus on the JD(S) heartland. Mr. Kumaraswamy had then clarified that the budget was only an addendum to the one presented by the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in February 2018 and that projects and schemes announced by the previous government for north Karnataka would continue.
While district-wise allocations cannot be inferred from the budget proposals, specific announcements on new projects give an indication of the regional focus of the government.
There were 216 announcements on Friday that addressed projects with specific costs and in specific regions (excluding Bengaluru city which received significant allocations). In all, these included projects worth more than ₹8,800 crore.
Hassan, Ramanagaram, Mysuru, Mandya, and Chamarajanagar — from where the JD(S) won bulk of its seats in the Assembly — have got projects costing ₹2,300 crore. These five districts account for a quarter of the allocations for projects.
Hassan, the stronghold of the H.D. Deve Gowda family, got allocations of nearly ₹550 crore, while Ramanagaram and Mandya — which are represented in the Assembly by JD(S) leaders including Mr. Kumaraswamy and his wife Anitha Kumaraswamy — have got ₹1,307 crore worth of projects.
Furthermore, Tumakuru, Kolar, Bengaluru Rural, Kodagu, and Chickballapur — where the JD(S) has a significant presence and hopes to consolidate its vote share — have got projects worth nearly ₹970 crore. These do not include projects such as airports or the new technical university in Hassan which have not received allocations.
This slant can perhaps be seen in the allocations for nearly ₹5,000-crore water resources projects. Eleven districts in south Karnataka have received more than half of the lift-irrigation or tank-filling projects announced.
Rest of the State
When looking at the rest of the State, a slew of projects have been announced for Bagalkot, Bidar, and Belagavi districts, while farmers in Malnad and coastal regions have got a special package declared for them.
Bagalkot, from where the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah won the 2018 election, has got nearly ₹329 crore worth of projects, while Bidar has got ₹675 crore worth of projects, much of which is irrigation schemes.
Bayaluseeme Development Board has got allocation of ₹90 crore, up from ₹55 crore last year, while the budget for Hyderabad Karnataka region remains the same at ₹1,500 crore.
