FM Nirmala Sitharaman at an event in Bengaluru, Wednesday.
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Wednesday, said that Karnataka had exceeded its targets for the financial year in terms of direct tax collections, and added that the central government is committed to investing in the state.
“Money doesn’t just go away from Karnataka. It comes back as well. It comes back for roads, it comes back for connectivity, it comes back for metro, it comes back for rail, it comes back for the suburban railway system, it comes back for Mangaluru port, it comes back for the ‘Kalyana’ Karnataka (region) and so on,” Sitharaman said, emphasising on the investments made by the Centre.
She was speaking at the foundation laying ceremony of a new apartment complex for tax department officials in the city.
Sitharaman’s comments come at a time of tussle between Karnataka and central government over devolution of funds.
The Siddaramaiah government has alleged that Karnataka has lost Rs 1.87 lakh crore under the 15th Finance Commission due to the union government’s policies. The state government has claimed that that it receives only Rs 12 for every Rs 100 that goes into the central tax kitty.
“I want to highlight the fact that Department of Revenue’s entire national faceless scheme runs from Bengaluru and you can imagine therefore, the scale of investment which would have happened for that,” the finance minister, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, said.
In an interview with DH earlier this month, Sitharaman had accused the state government of creating an environment of suspicion in people’s minds over the devolution issue.
“Are you serving your state or not with this petty politics? Such things will affect the image of Karnataka as a forward looking, very well-governed state. You want the state to be perceived as a forward looking or that which is only going to be bickering about things,” Sitharaman had said about the Siddaramaiah government.
She had also said that the Centre has the right to levy cesses and surcharges, the proceeds of which are being used in projects in all states, including Karnataka.