Contrary to expectations of people in Hyderabad Karnataka region, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has not increased the special grants for Hyderabad Karnataka Regional Development Board (HKRDB), which was established under Article 371(J) of the Constitution to fight the region’s backwardness, leaving many in the region disappointed. It was widely expected that the allocation would be increased from ₹ 1,500 crore in the previous budget to ₹ 2,000 crore in the current one.
“Though the size of the budget has gone up to ₹ 2,09,181 crore from the previous ₹ 1,86,561 crore (12.12%), there is no proportionate increase in the allocation of special grants to HKRDB,” Razak Ustaad, a social activist, said.
According to Umakanth B. Nigudgi, former president of Hyderabad Karnataka Chamber of Commerce, the region needs to be allocated ₹ 5,000 crore every year to fight the backwardness of the region, considering the recommendations made by the High Power Committee for Redressal of Regional Imbalances headed by D.M. Nanjundappa and the Cabinet Sub-committee headed by H.K. Patil. “When the State budget size was around ₹ 30,000 crore, ₹ 800 crore was expected. Now, the budget size has increased to over ₹ 2 lakh crore and the expectation of ₹ 5,000 crore for the region would be justified,” Mr. Nigudgi said.
The government has initiated the process of developing Yergera Postgraduate Centre in Raichur to make it an independent university carving out colleges in Raichur and Yadgir districts from the Gulbarga University. Contrary to the expectations, there is no mention of fund allocation for the purpose in the budget despite Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayaraddi hailing from the region.
No relief for red gram
No concrete announcements have been made in the budget to address the crisis that red gram growers are facing in the region. Allocation for market intervention and development of a pulses research centre in Kalaburagi were on the list of expectations.
“A sudden fall in prices of farm produces is a major issue that is pushing farmers into a deep crisis. We expected Mr. Siddaramaiah to keep ₹ 5,000 crore as a revolving fund for market intervention. It is sad that no such initiative is seen in the budget. The northern part of Hyderabad Karnataka region is the land of red gram and growers are facing a crisis. The budget doesn’t have anything specific offer for these farmers,” Maruti Manpade, a farmer leader in Kalaburagi, told The Hindu . Almost all taluks in the region are backward with low human development index and the budget has nothing to improve the situation, he added.
Businesses unhappy
The business community too is not happy with the budget. The red gram processing industry is in a crisis thanks to duty-free imports of pulses, among other factors. However, the budget has nothing to address the issue.
“Of around 500 dal mills in the region, half have closed downed their shutters. Duty-free import of pulses has resulted in the availability of cheap dal in the market. We expected that something would be announced to help the crisis-ridden industry,” Mr. Nigudgi said.
