Cabinet clears over ₹11cr for Kalyana Karnataka development, to ask Centre for ₹5k grant

The state cabinet on Tuesday approved projects worth ₹11,770 crore, including ₹7,200 crore drinking water initiative to supply rural areas in Bidar and Kalaburagi districts, for the development of Kalyana Karnataka during a meeting held in Kalaburagi. Siddaramaiah said that the state government has been allocating ₹5,000 crore annually for the development of Kalyana Karnataka, but noted that the central government was yet to contribute to the region’s growth under Article 371 since the constitutional amendment. Earlier in the day, addressing a gathering after hoisting the national flag at the police parade ground in Kalaburagi to mark the 77th Kalyana Karnataka Liberation Day and the 10th anniversary of the Special Status accorded to Kalyana Karnataka under Article 371 of the Constitution, Siddaramaiah said, “It has been 10 years since the 371 Constitutional Amendment was implemented to aid the backward Kalyana Karnataka region.” “After the state government started allocating sufficient funds to the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board, the region began seeing progress, and this was made possible by the efforts of All India Congress committee president Mallikarjun Kharge and the former chief minister late N. Dharam Singh,” he added. In the 2024-25 budget, the state government has allocated ₹5,000 crore to the Kalyana Karnataka Development Board,” he said.