A total of twelve Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) hailing from Bengaluru are poised to receive a financial allocation of Rs 40 crore each, forming a pivotal component of the adjusted civic grant disbursements. The Karnataka government, in its latest move, has directed the allotment of Rs 40 crore to each of these twelve Bengaluru-based MLAs, with the noteworthy detail that eleven of them are affiliated with the Congress party.
This redistribution of specialized civic grants is one of the progressive policies introduced by the new government, entailing a reevaluation of the allocations established by the previous BJP administration in the preceding year.
Among the dozen MLAs, ST Somashekar, who represents Yeshwantpur, and is the solitary BJP legislator featured in this list, is reportedly contemplating a return to the Congress, as per informed sources. It is important to highlight that he had been associated with the Congress in the past.
To elucidate, these twelve MLAs are earmarked to receive an aggregate sum of Rs 480 crore. This sum will be drawn from the unutilized funds originating from the Chief Minister's Nava Nagarothana Scheme in the year 2022. The said scheme had an overall allocation of Rs 8,149 crore. As a juxtaposition, Anekal, which is represented by B Shivanna of the Congress, is set to receive a sum of Rs 5 crore.
Significantly, a substantial proportion of these funds is designated for road development initiatives, an aspect underscored by a recent governmental decree issued by the Urban Development Department (UDD).
Since the advent of the new government in May 2023, Congress-affiliated MLAs have fervently advocated for the allocation of special grants to be channeled into their Assembly constituencies. Their rationale rests on the contention that a considerable "disparity" existed in the distribution of funds during the tenure of the previous BJP administration. They emphasized the substantial financial allocations received by BJP MLAs, ranging from Rs 200 crore to Rs 500 crore, during Basavaraj Bommai's stint as Chief Minister.
The government has subsequently responded to the appeals made by Congress MLAs by redistributing funds for a total of twenty distinct projects. This involves the annulment of projects such as the proposed flyover spanning the area between Minerva Circle and Hudson Circle via JC Road, along with flyovers at Ittamadu and Sarakki junctions, and the expansion of roads leading to Shivaram Karanth Layout.
Additionally, Rs 15 crore, which had originally been reserved for the provision of uniforms and safety gear for women pourakarmikas, has also been rerouted to serve different purposes.
The MLAs encompass Byrathi Suresh from Hebbal, AC Srinivas representing Pulakeshinagar, KJ George, who stands for Sarvagnanagar, NA Haris hailing from Shantinagar, Rizwan Arshad from Shivajinagar, Zameer Ahmed Khan of Chamarajpet, Dinesh Gundu Rao, the face of Gandhinagar, Priya Krishna from Govindajaranagar, M Krishnappa representing Vijayangar, Ramalinga Reddy from BTM Layout, Krishna Byregowda from Byatarayanapura, ST Somashekar of Yeshwanthpur, and B Shivanna, who is set to obtain Rs 5 crore, representing Anekal.
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