Bengaluru, Mar 25 (UNI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has refuted the Karnataka government's claim regarding the release of 'special grants' recommended by the 15th Finance Commission. She clarified that no such recommendations were made by the Commission.
"Karnataka government claims that Rs 5,495 crore special grant was not released to Karnataka and this is totally false. The Finance Commission did not in its final report recommend any such special grant," she claimed.
This comes in response to Karnataka's petition in the Supreme Court seeking direction to release grants under the National Disaster Response Fund to address the state's drought situation.
Sitharaman emphasised that Karnataka has received all its due funds on time and rejected allegations of the Centre's apathy towards the state's issues.
"I want to make it a point to tell you in detail that every penny that is due to Karnataka, every paisa that is due to Karnataka, is given, and given on time," the Finance Minister said during a talk organised by Thinkers Forum, Jayanagar in the city.
She cited an increase in tax devolution and grants-in-aid under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership compared to the previous UPA rule, presenting statistical evidence to support her claim.
"The tax devolution has increased under Prime Minister Narendra Modi between 2014 and 2024 by 258 per cent, which is 3.5 times more compared to the 10 years during the previous UPA rule. In these 10 years of BJP rule, the grants-in-aid have also increased to 273 per cent, which is 3.7 times more than what it was the previous 10 years," she claimed.
"And, between 2004 and 2014, the money received by Karnataka per year was Rs 81,795 crore, which went up to Rs 2,93,226 crore from 2014 to 2024," she said.
Furthermore, she urged the state government to verify facts before making accusations and stressed the importance of providing accurate information to the public.
Sitharaman also highlighted PM Modi's initiative to provide interest-free loans for 50 years to states for infrastructure development post-Covid, mentioning the allocation for Karnataka under this scheme. UNI BDN AKS