SDPI President Urges Immediate Release of Rs 2,133 Crore Grants to Karnataka Local Bodies
In a significant development, Abdul Majeed Mysuru, the state president of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), has called upon the central government to immediately release pending grants totaling Rs 2,133 crore under the 15th Finance Commission for the fiscal year 2025-26 to local bodies across Karnataka. Addressing a press conference in Mangaluru on Tuesday, Mysuru highlighted a critical funding crisis that is severely impacting grassroots governance in the state.
Funding Crisis Affects Thousands of Gram Panchayats
Mysuru emphasized that the delay in releasing these funds has directly affected nearly 6,000 gram panchayats throughout Karnataka. He stated that most planned development works in villages have been stalled due to the lack of financial resources, crippling essential services and infrastructure projects at the local level. "This crisis has directly affected nearly 6,000 gram panchayats in the state. Most of the works planned in villages could not be initiated due to a lack of funds," he explained during the conference.
Central Government's Stance and State Government's Failure
The SDPI leader accused the central government of showing bias against Karnataka by withholding the funds, while also criticizing the state government for failing to secure them. According to Mysuru, the central government has cited violations of guidelines as the primary reason for not releasing the grants. "The central government has been citing the violation of guidelines as the reason for not releasing the funds," he noted.
He elaborated that as per the guidelines, funds under the 15th Finance Commission grants are only released if there are elected bodies in place at the taluk panchayat, zilla panchayat, and gram panchayat levels. "As per the guidelines, the funds under the 15th Finance Commission grants are released only if there are elected bodies in the taluk panchayat, zilla panchayat and GPs," Mysuru said. He pointed out that successive governments in Karnataka have failed to hold elections for these local bodies, thereby creating a legal and administrative impasse.
Demand for Immediate Elections and Criticism of MPs
In response to this situation, Mysuru demanded that the state government should immediately hold elections to taluk panchayats (TPs) and zilla panchayats (ZPs) to comply with the guidelines and unlock the funds. He argued that this step is crucial to resolving the financial deadlock and restoring functionality to local governance structures.
Furthermore, Mysuru questioned the role of Karnataka's 28 Members of Parliament (MPs) for not raising this pressing issue during Parliament sessions. He specifically called out Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta, accusing him of wasting parliamentary time by discussing the SDPI instead of addressing the fund scarcity. "Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta was wasting time speaking about SDPI in the Parliament instead of raising this serious issue of fund scarcity," Mysuru asserted.
He added that all 28 MPs from Karnataka owe an apology to the people of the state for their silence on the matter. "All the 28 MPs from Karnataka need to apologise to the people of Karnataka for not raising their voice against the non-release of funds," he concluded, underscoring the urgency of the situation and the need for immediate action from both state and central authorities.
