K'taka Home Minister Parameshwara says his statement was misunderstood, no dearth of funds in state
Bengaluru, Jun 24 (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday clarified that there is no shortage of funds in the state government for any reason, and that his earlier statement has been misunderstood.
The senior Congress leader was clarifying the statement he made on Monday while addressing a gathering at Badami in Bagalkote district, where he had said that the state government doesn't have money. His comments were picked up by the media, and the opposition BJP too used it to target the government, alleging that the financial condition of the state has deteriorated.
"I have not said like that, who said there is no money? I have defended the government, saying that we have presented a record budget....as someone said things jokingly during the speech, I reacted in a similar fashion, that's all," Parameshwara told reporters here on Tuesday, when questioned about his statement.
Reiterating that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has presented a Rs 4.09 lakh crore budget, he said, "I have said that there is no shortage of funds. Rs 22,000 crore has been allocated for irrigation in the budget. Allocations have been made for the five guarantee schemes in the budget, and instructions have been made to prepare an action plan for Rs 50 crore in every constituency. I said all of this in my address. When someone said something jokingly, I might have reacted."
"I'm now saying officially that there is no financial distress in our government. I'm saying it very clearly. Sometimes, there may be a delay in the release of funds, as DPR and estimates have to be prepared before releasing money. There may be some delay in that; other than that, there is nothing else. There is no shortage of funds in our government for any reason. I'm making it clear. If anyone has misunderstood my statement, I'm correcting that," he added.
The Home Minister while addressing a gathering in Badami on Monday had suggested local MLA Bheemasen B Chimmanakatti to prepare a Rs 1,000 crore project for the development of the Badami town, which is of historical and archaeological importance, and send it to the centre, as the state doesn't have money.
"Prepare the project (for Badami's development) and send it to the Centre, we don't have money, Siddaramaiah doesn't have money now. We have given you (people) in the form of rice, pulses, oil," he had said.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
