Mangaluru City South MLA D Vedavyas Kamath addresses the media in Mangaluru on Wednesday
He said the state had pending works worth more than Rs 2 lakh crore, and unpaid bills exceeding Rs 36,136 crore across departments, including PWD, water resources, minor irrigation and RDPR. Kamath said Karnataka’s cumulative debt had risen to Rs 8.3 lakh crore under the DK Shivakumar-led Congress regime, while the fiscal deficit was nearing the 3% limit prescribed under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act. Kamath also alleged that works under the Rs 200 crore Mahatma Gandhi Nagar Vikas Yojana-2 had remained stalled despite foundation-laying ceremonies. Referring to civic infrastructure projects, he said the Asian Development Bank loan for water supply and drainage works had increased to Rs 1,375.2 crore, including interest.
Mangaluru: Mangaluru City South MLA D Vedavyas Kamath accused the Karnataka govt of making “hollow promises” to the coastal region during its recent cabinet meeting in Mangaluru, alleging that the state lacked the financial capacity to implement several of the announced projects. “When projects that already have budgetary allocations are not being executed, how will new works happen merely because ministers announce them at a cabinet meeting without budgetary provision?” he asked. These included sea ambulances and dredging machinery for fishermen, he said. “If you genuinely have the capability and courage, execute what you announced,” Kamath said, questioning the govt’s ability to fund the new commitments while existing liabilities remained pending.
He alleged that several commitments made to Mangaluru in earlier state budgets remained pending. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Kamath released correspondence from the state finance department, which he claimed highlighted the govt’s mounting financial liabilities.