‘Congress Govt Totally Incompetent, Failed to Utilise ₹8,937 Cr Central Funds’: Ravi Kumar

Bengaluru: Chief Whip of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council N. Ravi Kumar on Monday strongly criticised the Congress government, describing it as “totally incompetent” for its failure to utilise Central funds.

In a statement, Ravi Kumar said as much as ₹8,937 crore allocated to 12 important departments remains unutilised. “The Congress government’s performance in utilising Central funds is a pathetic 41.8 per cent,” he said.

Highlighting department-wise figures, he pointed out that the Transport Department received ₹11 crore but did not spend a single rupee. The Revenue Department left the entire ₹189 crore unutilised. The Water Resources Department managed only 1.3 per cent utilisation, leaving ₹52 crore unused, while Primary Education utilised a mere 1.8 per cent, with ₹912 crore remaining unspent.

Ravi Kumar noted that the bulk of the unutilised amount pertains to major schemes. “Out of the ₹8,937 crore remaining unutilised, the lion’s share belongs to 10 projects, including the Jal Jeevan Mission and VB-G-RAM-G. Under Samagra Shiksha schemes alone, ₹6,615 crore is yet to be utilised,” he said.

Terming the figures a “telling comment on the abysmally dismal state of affairs in day-to-day governance,” Ravi Kumar alleged that the Chief Minister and every minister had failed to administer the state in the best interest of the people. “Non-utilisation of Central funds means betraying people’s interests,” he added. (eom)