Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Wednesday that the Karnataka government will urge elected MPS from the state to pressure the Central government to release its share of Rs 4,195 crore allocated to centrally sponsored schemes (CSS), which has been pending for the 2024-25 fiscal.
He was speaking following a meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) held to review the implementation of CSS in the state. For the 2024-25 fiscal, the total expenditure on CSS was Rs 46,859 crore, of which the Centre’s share was Rs 22,758 crore and state’s share Rs 24,101 crore.
“However, the Centre has released only Rs 18,562 crore; the remaining amount of around Rs 4,000 crore is yet to be released by the Centre,” he said, pointing out that the state was spending more than the Centre to finance the 67 CSS.
The CM said that during the 2024-25 fiscal year, due to the delay in the Central government’s release of funds, only 83 per cent of the total funds allocated for these schemes were spent.
Though the funds do not lapse and get transferred to the opening balance of various CSS accounts, it causes delays in implementing the schemes.
“I have asked officials to write to the Central government to ensure that the funds are released soon,” Siddaramaiah said, noting that he had petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman about the issue earlier.
He said he would write to MPs from Karnataka, cutting across party lines, to urge the Centre to ensure the timely release of these funds.
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During the meeting, it was revealed that the state spent Rs 5,665.95 crore for various welfare schemes such as old-age and disability pensions under CSS.
“While the allocation for the Centre for these schemes was Rs 559.61 cr, the Centre released only Rs 113.92 cr,” the CM said, according to a note issued by the Chief Ministers’ Office.
The meeting also discussed the announcement made in the 2023-24 Union budget for the Upper Bhadra project. Though Rs 5,360 crore was announced for the project, which aims to improve irrigation in central Karnataka districts, Siddaramaiah noted that not a single rupee has been released to date.
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