Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday said the five “guaranteed” welfare schemes of the ruling Congress were a “burden” on the state exchequer but would continue.
“There is no need to review the safeguards,” he told reporters in Bengaluru. Shivakumar said on Wednesday that the five guarantees offered by the state government are aimed at strengthening families financially and mentally. He stressed that social welfare measures will continue despite the burden on the treasury. But he said many were receiving benefits in the name of “dead people,” something that needed to be stopped.
The five guarantee schemes are ‘Gruha Jyothi’ which provides 200 units of free electricity to each household, and ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ scheme which provides… $2000 for each woman head of household and Anna Bhagya provides 10 kg of rice to each BPL family member monthly. While it is a ‘Yuva Nidhi’ scheme. $$3,000 for unemployed graduates $1,500 for unemployed diploma holders for two years (in the age group of 18-25 years) and the ‘Shakti’ scheme allows free travel for Karnataka women to travel within the state in non-luxury government buses.
Speaking at an event here earlier, Shivakumar said the safeguards are aimed at ensuring that money remains in the hands of citizens and that confidence is not lost in times of hardship.
He admitted that the schemes might put a financial burden on the government but stressed that public welfare would not be compromised. “It may be a burden on the government. But even if it is a burden, you should not mentally weaken your financial strength,” he said.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister and Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that the ministry has requested 3,000 new buses in the upcoming state budget to strengthen the fleet. This comes amid a sharp rise in the number of bus passengers following the launch of the Shakti scheme that allows free travel for women. “We have not yet received confirmation on the number of buses we will get,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Reddy denied suggestions that the free travel program was responsible for the losses. “Shakti Yojana is not the reason for the losses of the transport companies. The transport company was suffering losses even during the BJP government,” he said.
He added that public transportation is operated as a service and not as a profit-driven enterprise. “Project Shakti has nothing to do with the transport company’s losses, and the government is trying to compensate for the losses,” he said.
He added, “We are making a profit of 35%. We will run the buses even if we lose. There is no profit motive here. Private companies will not run the buses if they do not make a profit.”
Separately, the government is moving ahead with a smart card system for bus passengers, which recently received Cabinet approval. Bids will be issued soon, and the cards will return to the Cabinet for final approval after the bidding process. “Once the tenders are completed, they will go back to the Cabinet. Initially, we expect about three million citizens to benefit from the smart card,” Reddy said.
(with PTI inputs)
