Kumaraswamy to present budget on Thursday
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy will present the Congress-JDS coalition government’s maiden budget tomorrow, amid high expectations of farm loan waiver.
In the run-up to the recent assembly polls, the Kumaraswamy-led JD(S) had promised to waive farm loans borrowed both from cooperative and nationalised banks within 24 hours of coming to power.
Kumaraswamy, who also holds the finance portfolio, had earlier cited coalition compulsions and the need for studying the financial condition of the state as the reason for the delay in the announcement of loan waiver.
Financial experts and some government officials have already expressed concern over the impact loan waiver may have on the state’s finances.
It will also be interesting to see how Kumaraswamy, who has in the past claimed that he is not an expert on the economy, will strike a balance between loan waiver, flagship schemes of the previous government, new schemes or programmes if any, as also infrastructure needs of the state.
The Congress-JD(S) coordination committee constituted to oversee the smooth functioning of the government had on Sunday approved the Common Minimum Programme, which includes waiver of farm loans, creation of one crore jobs and allocation of Rs 1.25 lakh crore for irrigation over the next five years.
It also included construction of 20 lakh houses for homeless families in the state in the next five years, along with implementation of a universal health policy, ‘Arogya Karnataka’ of the previous government, among others.