K’taka ushering in financial discipline by reducing fiscal deficit: CM Bommai

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said the State government is bringing in fiscal discipline by restricting deficit to Rs 62,000 crore. The deficit of Rs 62,000 crore is only 2.82 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), Bommai said adding that the Centre has permitted the fiscal deficit up to 3.5 per cent of the GSDP.

“We are restricting fiscal deficit to Rs 62,000 crore of the budget estimate. This is one of the fiscal disciplines I am bringing in,” Bommai said during a discussion on the second instalment of supplementary budget of Rs 8,001.13 crore.

The supplementary budget was passed in the House today.

The Chief Minister said the GSDP is Rs 21.89 lakh crore, whereas the total liabilities were at Rs 5,18,314 crore, which is 23.76 per cent of the GSDP.

“We are fulfilling all the three parameters of the fiscal discipline. We are trying to make it a surplus budget, we are limiting our fiscal deficit and also our liabilities,” Bommai told the House.

Replying to Congress MLA Krishna Byre Gowda’s charge of declining devolution of fund from 41 per cent to 29 per cent, Bommai said, “Our overall collection might have declined there cannot be such a drastic change.”

On the charge by Gowda that the funds allocated under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) were diverted for other purpose, Bommai said, “You should know what legacy I got due to COVID-19 and other fiscal deficit budget of the past.”.

The Chief Minister said he would hold a meeting on the SCSP-TSP expenditure next week. He, however, pointed out that the previous governments had been doing it and there was nothing new.

He further said the government is thinking of abrogating 7A of the SCSP-TSP Rule restricting the diversion of funds.