Bangalore: With the swearing-in of the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka, the implementation of several guarantees of freebies has started in the state. In the first meeting of the cabinet, Siddaramaiah has approved the 5 promises made during the election time. In which, along with 200 units of free electricity to all the houses, financial assistance of Rs. 2000 per month will also be provided to the female head of each family. The state government has approved these schemes, but now the big question arises that from where will the new government of Karnataka get the money for this?
In fact, it is estimated to cost the Siddaramaiah government around Rs 62,000 crore per year to fulfill its promises. Which is about 20 percent of the state budget. This simply means that 20 percent of Karnataka's budget will be spent on only 5 free guarantees. Apart from these 5 guarantees, will there not be any important work left for which budget will be required? From where will the money come for education, health, security and other development works? Economic experts say that free guarantees will put a burden on the exchequer, which is already in deficit since the time of the Corona epidemic. This huge expenditure will further weaken the economic condition of the state.
Let us tell you that in the state budget of Karnataka for 2022-23, a total revenue deficit of Rs 14,699 crore was shown. Now, the deficit for 2023-24 is estimated to be around Rs 60,581 crore, which means the deficit will increase by 4%. In such a situation, according to economic experts, the lack of funds for capital expenditure due to free guarantees will affect basic development. This big challenge before the Siddaramaiah government is also because, at present, Karnataka has a debt of about Rs 3 lakh crore.
On the other hand, if we look at the economic condition of Karnataka, then the total income of the state is around Rs 2 lakh 26 thousand crore, while the total expenditure is Rs 2 lakh 87 thousand crore. This means that after the implementation of these schemes, Karnataka's deficit will increase to close to 1 lakh 15-17 thousand crores. Let us tell you that the announcement of 200 units of free electricity by the Karnataka government is estimated to cost 14 thousand 430 crores annually. At the same time, 3 thousand crores will be spent annually on unemployment allowance given to the youth. A total of 30 thousand 720 crores will be spent every year on giving allowance to women. 5 thousand crore rupees will be spent on free food grains to the poor. At the same time, it is a bit difficult to estimate free bus travel for women, because for this the number of women traveling, the cost of fare and the number of trips have to be estimated, along with how many fishermen the state government will give 500 liters of diesel per year and how much does it cost.
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