KKRDB chairman Ajay Singh at a press conference in Kalaburagi on Wednesday. | Photo credit: ARUN KULKARNI
Accusing the Union government of violating its constitutional commitment under Article 371(J), Ajay Singh, chairman of the Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board (KKRDB), said the Center had failed to release adequate grants meant for the development of the Kalyana Karnataka region.
At Wednesday’s press conference in Kalaburagi, Dr. Singh said that despite sustained efforts by the state government, including repeated letters and personal statements by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the President, Prime Minister and Union Finance Minister, no funds have been released so far. He said talks are on with the chief minister to take an all-party delegation soon to pressurize the central government to release the pending grants.
Dr. Singh said the state government has allocated ₹24,878 crore to KKRDB for the period 2013-14 to 2025-26. In line with the Vidarbha development model in Maharashtra, the Center should release an amount equal to matching grants to accelerate development in the region.
₹ 1.25 lakh crore payable from the Centre
Dr. Singh accused the Union government of taking a step-motherly attitude towards Karnataka by withholding about ₹1.25 crore under various heads. He said no funds have been released from the ₹5,300 crore announced for the Upper Bhadra project, the ₹6,000 crore promised for Bengaluru development or the ₹5,495 crore recommended as special grants under the 15th Finance Commission. The backlog also includes disaster relief and centrally sponsored programmes, apart from losses due to changes in tax devolution.
He criticized changes to Mahatma Gandhi’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), saying that changing the funding formula to a 60:40 centre-state ratio from full central funding would weaken states, and accused the Modi-led Center government of focusing more on renaming existing schemes than on employment and welfare.
Education reforms in the KK region
With reference to education reforms Dr. Singh said a committee of education experts headed by Chaya Degaonkar submitted a report to the Chief Minister in Belagavi on December 16. The report recommended the construction of KPS schools, the introduction of bilingual education, improved learning outcomes and steps to address teacher shortages to improve outcomes in the region. An amount of ₹ 3.44 crore is being spent to improve SSLC examination results, he added.
In response to a question from Dr. Singh said there are 247 KPS schools in the state, of which 60 are located in the Kalyana region of Karnataka. Within a year, KKRDB would establish 200 schools and another 100 education departments in the region. He added that the board will spend around ₹4,000 crore till March 31 during the financial year 2025-26.
Published – 25 Dec 2025 20:37 IST
