Bommai to present budget in Feb in poll-bound Karnataka

Bengaluru: The state budget for 2023-24 fiscal will be presented in February by Chief Minister Basawaraj Bommai ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled to be held in April-May this year.

Sources in the CM’s office said that Bommai is all set to present a popular, full-fledged and surplus budget.

It is going to be Bommai’s second budget and the last one of the BJP government in its present term in the state. A series of meetings have already been conducted with the officials of the finance department in this connection. Bommai is also holding pre-budget meetings with the officials from other departments.

Sources said that Bommai is going to present the budget for more than Rs 3 lakh crore for 2023-24. He had presented a Rs 2.7 crore budget for the 2022-23 fiscal.

The upcoming budget is going to be a deciding factor for the ruling BJP, as it will be presented months ahead of the Assembly elections. The focus is clearly on popular schemes and projects, which would boost the poll prospects of the saffron party, BJP insiders said.

The state has come out of the shock of the Covid pandemic, and tax collections have exceeded the set targets.

The focus of the budget is likely to be on subsidies for the farmers and encouraging the rural industries. The water projects are also expected to get a good package.

However, opposition leaders have expressed their concerns over the debt burden of the state, claiming that the total debt could cross Rs 80,000 crore this time.

 

(With IANS inputs)