Karnataka: Siddaramaiah promises to implement all 5 poll guarantees this financial year

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Friday, announced that all five poll guarantees will be implemented in the current financial year. On June 11, the government will roll out Shakti, the free bus travel scheme for women, while the remaining four schemes will be rolled out in phases as they require the registration of eligible beneficiaries.

Siddaramaiah, who held a three-hour-long special cabinet meeting, gave a roadmap and timeline for the implementation of the five poll promises made by the Congress during the assembly elections campaign. “The KPCC chief and I had signed a guarantee card and distributed them to the voters, assuring them that we would implement all five guarantees. After I took oath along with the deputy chief minister and eight other ministers, in the first cabinet meeting, we gave in-principle approval to implement all five guarantees. Today’s special cabinet meeting discussed all these guarantee schemes and they will be implemented within the current financial year. These schemes will be extended to people of every caste, religion and language,” said Siddaramaiah while addressing a press meet along with his cabinet colleagues.

The Shakti scheme, which will be launched on June 11 in Bengaluru, will provide free bus travel within Karnataka in all KSRTC and BMTC buses (except AC, luxury and sleeper buses) to all women in the state. In KSRTC buses, 50 per cent of seats will be reserved for women. The scheme will be launched in Bengaluru on June 11.

The state government has decided to launch Gruha Jyoti, the scheme to provide 200 units of free power from July.
“To prevent misuse, we will calculate the average consumption of power over 12 months and add an additional 10 per cent to it. If this total is less than 200 units, the consumer will be eligible for free power. It will come into force from July 1. However, there will be no relaxation on arrears (pending bills up to July 2023),” said Siddaramaiah.

The chief minister, who refused to go into details of the total funds needed to implement the schemes, said the government will implement ‘Gruha Laxmi’ scheme from August 15.

“Each family has to decide on who will be the woman head and apply, providing her Aadhar card and bank account details to the government to be eligible for the scheme. We will receive online applications between June 15 and July 15. As a new software needs to be developed for the scheme (to link Aadhar with bank account), it will be operational only in August. The applications will be processed between July 15 and August 15. The benefit of Rs 2,000 will be transferred to the account numbers on August 15 every month. Both BPL and APL cardholders will be eligible for the scheme. However, women who are retired government employees will not be eligible for the benefit,” added Siddaramaiah.

Siddaramaiah observed that the BJP government had reduced the free rice quota from seven kilos to five kilos per person under the Anna Bhagya scheme. “We could have launched the scheme from this month but we don’t have enough stocks. But we will give 10 kilos of foodgrains per head every month to all BPL and Antyodaya cardholders from July 1,” he added.

The state government will extend unemployment benefits under the Yuva Nidhi scheme to all the graduates who finished college in 2022-23. While graduates will be given Rs 3,000, diploma holders will be given Rs 1,500 every month for 24 months. “An estimated four lakh youths will be eligible for the unemployment benefit for 24 months. Any graduate who has remained unemployed even after 180 days of finishing college, will be eligible for the benefit. All graduates, irrespective of caste and gender, including transgenders, will be eligible,” said Siddaramaiah, even as he hit back at the BJP for questioning the delay in implementing the schemes.

“What moral right does BJP have to mock us? We have always delivered our promises, including this one. Has Modi delivered Rs 15 lakh to everyone’s account,” asked the CM.