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Karnataka's BS Yediyurappa announces ₹1,250 cr relief package, oppn says it’s insufficient
Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s package includes payment of ₹10,000 to flower growers, and ₹2,000-3,000 to 2.1 lakh registered auto, taxi and maxi cab drivers and around 3 lakh people working as barbers, dhobis, rag pickers and others
Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday announced a financial relief package for a section of the people who have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns that have affected their livelihood and income.
“To provide relief to people who have lost income and livelihood due to the 2nd wave of Covid-19, ₹1,250 crore of economic support has been sanctioned to farmers, workers from the unorganised sector, auto and cab drivers, street vendors among others,” Yediyurappa said in a post on Twitter.
“Even when our financial situation is not very good, we are telling the people that we are there with them,” Yediyurappa added at a press conference to announce the financial package for Karnataka.
A statement by the chief minister’s office (CMO) later, however, said the package amounts to ₹1,111.8 crore.
Karnataka's relief package comes weeks after the Yediyurappa-led government reversed its decision not to announce a lockdown on account of its unpreparedness for the impact of the imminent second Covid wave despite warnings from a government-appointed technical advisory committee (TAC) in November.
Karnataka remains in lockdown till May 24; there is a possibility that it will be extended.
Yediyurappa announced a ₹1,610 crore package in May last year but many of the targeted beneficiaries said it was hardly able to compensate people for the loss of their income.
Karnataka’s large farming population of the calamity-prone state have been struggling for years, particularly since they have faced at least 15 years of droughts and four major floods over the last 20 years. The government is yet to announce any compensation for those hit by Cyclone Tauktae.
Congress leader Siddramaiah said the chief minister announced relief packages worth ₹2,100 crore last year but did not spend the money. He said less than 50% of the targeted beneficiaries last time got any relief.
Karnataka has seen a steady increase in Covid-19 cases and accounts for 5,75,049 active cases, nearly 17% of the country’s 32,26,719 active cases on Wednesday. While Karnataka’s capital Bengaluru, which accounted for almost 60% of the state’s cases and fatalities, has seen a sharp decline in new infections, data also shows that the state had reduced the number of people being tested on an average.
The financial package announced on Wednesday involves a one-time payment of ₹10,000 for about 20,000 flower growers and 69,000 farmers who produce fruit and vegetables costing the exchequer a total of around ₹81.73 crore.
Yediyurappa announced financial relief ranging from ₹2,000- ₹3,000 for around 2.1 lakh licensed and registered auto, taxi and maxi cab drivers, around 3.04 lakh people working as barbers, dhobis, hamalis, rag pickers, potters, goldsmiths, mechanics and domestic workers among others. The government also announced that around 2.20 lakh street vendors would get around ₹2,000 each, totalling to ₹44 crore. Yediyurappa announced ₹3,000 each for around 16095 artists and artist groups that would cost the state ₹4.85 crore.
Registered construction workers would get ₹3,000 from the welfare fund that would entail a total relief of ₹494 crore.
The chief minister also extended the loan period for short, medium and long-term loans availed by around 4.25 lakh farmers and others by three months that would entail the government bearing the interest payment of ₹134.38 crore.
The chief minister said the state is extending the relief given by the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana by giving an additional 30 lakh people 5 kg rice. This would benefit a total of 43.4 million people or 12.6 million ration cardholders.
Wednesday’s announcement said 10kg food grains will be given to BPL cardholders while APL cardholders would get grains for ₹15 per kg per month for May and June.
Yediyurappa said the government was spending around ₹25 crore to provide around 6 lakh people a day with free food that was being distributed at Indira Canteens.
Opposition leaders were, however, dismissive of the state government’s package. They said it won’t help.
“I had asked for a lockdown in March itself, but no announcement was made. The lockdown took place in neighbouring Kerala in March and a ₹20,000 crore package was also announced. Kerala is a small state compared to Karnataka. But is this ₹1,200 crore compensation for the larger state of Karnataka?” HD Kumaraswamy, former chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader said.
The Congress insists that all economically weaker sections be paid ₹10,000, and the money should be handed to panchayats.
“The government should conduct a survey on how many people have lost jobs.
This is not a government that thinks about the poor. Since we insisted on a package, they have announced it. But it has completely failed,” DK Shivakumar, the president of the Karnataka Congress said.
