Ramanagara: Karnataka Minister HC Balakrishna has said the government would have found it easier to manage its finances had it not introduced the five guarantee schemes, as he sought the understanding of persons with disabilities protesting here over various demands.
Balakrishna, who holds the municipal administration portfolio, said the government had to balance its welfare commitments with expenditure on salaries and development works amid financial constraints.
“If we did not have these guarantees, perhaps all these things would not have appeared to us to be such major problems. It would have been easy for us to do all this. But we have to run the government. Everything must be managed within the system and within the budget,” Balakrishna told the protesters on Saturday night.
The five guarantee schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides up to 200 units of free electricity for household use, and Gruha Lakshmi, which provides Rs 2,000 monthly financial assistance to eligible women heads of households.
Shakti offers free travel to women and transgender persons on state-run non-premium buses, while Anna Bhagya provides 10 kg of foodgrain to BPL cardholders.
Yuva Nidhi provides unemployment assistance to eligible graduates and diploma holders.
“We have given these guarantees for the welfare of the people. If there is a drought, we have to provide financial assistance to farmers, and they too stage protests,” he said.
Balakrishna said even those availing themselves of the guarantee schemes were also staging protests.
“We are caught in the middle of all these problems and struggling,” the minister said.
He, however, clarified that the government or Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had no intention of stopping the implementation of the guarantees.
“But look at how the financial system is functioning today. We have to manage everything, pay salaries and undertake development works. All these are smaller issues,” he said.
Balakrishna said he understood the challenges faced by the protesters but urged them to also consider the government’s financial limitations.
“We have our limitations as well,” the minister said.
He appealed to the protesters to understand the government’s position and not view its explanation of the financial constraints as an attempt to cause them hardship.
“Please do not misunderstand this as though we are causing you trouble and telling you all this before you. That would be a wrong way of looking at it,” Balakrishna said.
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