Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB) chairman Ajay Singh, who is the MLA representing Jewargi, said that a delegation of all 41 MLAs from the region, cutting across party affiliations, will be taken to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with a demand for allocating sufficient funds to the development of the backward region.
“As per the recommendations of the High-Power Committee for Redressal of Regional Imbalances in Karnataka headed by D.M. Najundappa, the allocation of funds in the budget should be based on the size of the population. If we apply this formula to the Kalyana Karnataka region, we must get around ₹60,000 crore in the State budget. If other regions get ₹1 crore in the budget, our region gets only ₹70 lakh. The KKRDB is thus forced to fill the gap of the remaining ₹30 lakh, as per this example. It should stop. If other regions get ₹1 crore, Kalyana Karnataka should also get ₹1 crore in the regular budget. The KKRDB is established under the Special Status that the region is accorded under Article 371(J) of the Constitution and the special grants allocated are over and above the regular budgetary allocations made to the region,” he said, during his interaction with industrialists and traders organised by Kalyana Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Monday.
Responding to the demand for reserving ₹100 crore for the development of infrastructure in Kalaburagi city, Mr. Singh said that 70% of the grants are reserved for micro schemes and the remaining 30% for macro programmes.
