Budget: Bommai pleases all but...

As could have been expected, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has come up with a ‘please all’ State Budget for 2022-23. Studded with a bevy of populist schemes, the Budget has something to cheer the hearts of all except the state’s considerable minority population, a segment of people who have never been the BJP’s favourite category. That it spares the people of any new taxes stands out as a shining hallmark of the budget and comes as a big relief for the covid-hit masses.

Bommai has tried to hand out sops to as many sections as possible what with various caste-related development boards receiving a bonanza of funds. Allocation of Rs. 1,000 crore for the Mekedatu balancing reservoir though will not go down well with the lower riparian state Tamil Nadu, and is more of an effort to deflate the propaganda balloon of the rival Congress’ as the party has just concluded its phase-2 Padayatra from Mekedatu to the city on Thursday.

The proposal to set up a unit of the Kidwai Memorial Cancer Institute in Belagavi and allocation of funds for Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI) should be welcomed as the expansion of the two premier health facilities was long overdue. The proposal to set up 438 Namma Clinics in each taluk of the state and each ward of BBMP raises the question if these will be any different from the existing PHCs. Similarly, the scheme to set up an airport at Raichur is questionable as airports at several district headquarters have proved to be non-viable. A case in point is Bidar where flights were first curtailed and later withdrawn due to lack of passengers.

Proposal to set up new gaushalas (cow sheds for unproductive cattle) under Punyakoti Dattu Yojane is laudable though it carries the ideological stamp of the BJP. The allocation made for the proposed “Bengaluru Public Schools” and construction of hostels for the weaker sections under Deendayal Upadhyay Sauharda Vidyarthi Nilaya in important cities will go a long way in promoting quality education among those who can ill afford the costs.

Installation of cell-phone jammers inside prisons is a step in the right direction, given the fact that availability of cell-phones within jails, has kept the criminal networks alive and kicking.

Allocation of Rs. 8,304 crore towards improving infrastructure in Bengaluru and sanction of a new Metro phase (from Hebbal to Sarjapur) is a sure indication of the BBMP elections being around the corner. It is galling to see that the minority population has been neglected in the Budget. One would like to ask what happened to the ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas aur sabka vishwas’ mantra chanted by the Prime Minister.