Kalaburagi: Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday made a veiled attack on the state government for not releasing the grants due to the Hyderabad Karnataka Region Development Board (HKRDB).
Addressing the public after performing the ground breaking ceremony of road and drainage improvement works in a few localities of the city, Mr Kharge asserted that he would write to the state government to immediately release the grants due to HKRDB. “Initially, after Article 371(J) came into being, for two years an annual grant of Rs 1,000 crore was sanctioned to HKRDB. Subsequently following the demand from us, in the 2017-18 budget, then chief minister Siddaramaiah enhanced the grants from Rs 1,000 crore to to Rs 1500 crore per annum. Of this amount, Rs 500 crore has not been released to HKRDB. Similarly in the 2018-19 budget presented by Mr H.D. Kumaraswamy, though an allocation of Rs 1500 crore was made, Rs 500 crore has not yet been released. In addition to these, the state government also has to release Rs 400 crore, regarding which a decision was taken at the state Cabinet meeting held at Kalaburagi. In all, HKRDB has to get Rs 3,400 crore from the state government. I had written twice in the past to the state government urging it to release the grants. I will again write to the CM, who also holds the finance portfolio, to take immediate measures to release the grants”, Mr Kharge stated.
The Senior Congress leader also made a veiled attack on legislators from the region, who are members of HKRDB, including the chairman, for the cavalier manner in which they conducted the meetings of HKRDB to finalise plans. “Most of the legislators attend the meetings in a casual manner and after an hour or two, they quietly exit from the meetings. They need to be serious to tackle the problems and also make proper use of the grants provided”, Mr Kharge remarked.
He rebutted the allegation that the development works initiated by him were for political gain.
“I have never undertaken developmental works for any gain. Be it Article 371(J), sanctioning of various railway projects, the ESIC Hospital and Medical Complex, I did these for the development of the region. I need your support. If you support me, I promise you that I will work with greater enthusiasm for the betterment of the people”, he stated.
