Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Gives In-Principle Nod For 5 Guarantees In First Cabinet Meet

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the newly sworn-in Karnataka Cabinet led by him in its maiden meet on Saturday accorded in-principle approval to implement the Congress party's five guarantees and initial estimates indicate that it would cost the exchequer Rs 50,000 crore annually.

The first Cabinet meeting was held immediately after Siddaramaiah was sworn in as Chief Minister, and D K Shivakumar as Deputy Chief Minister along with eight MLAs as Ministers.

"It's agreed upon. We will not go back (on the promises)," the Chief Minister said, adding, the assurances would be fulfilled notwithstanding financial implications, if any.

Siddaramaiah said initial estimation of the government is that the implementation of the poll promises would cost the exchequer Rs 50,000 crore a year.

The assurances promised before the elections would "most likely" be implemented after the next Cabinet meeting, he said addressing a press conference here.

During the campaigning for the May 10 elections, Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi repeatedly assured the voters that these five guarantees would be approved in the first Cabinet meeting on the first day of coming to power.

The Gruha Lakshmi scheme aims to provide financial support to women in the state who are the head of their households. Under the scheme, eligible women will receive a monthly financial assistance of Rs 2,000 for a period of one year.

The scheme is expected to benefit around 2 lakh women across the state. The beneficiaries of the scheme will be selected on the basis of certain eligibility criteria, which include:

• The woman must be the head of her household.
• She must be a resident of Karnataka.
• She must have a family income of less than Rs. 3 lakh per annum.
• She must be above the age of 18 years.

The five schemes that the Congress guaranteed it would implement are

1. 'Gruha Jyothi' - to provide 200 units electricity free to every household;
2. 'Gruha Lakshmi' - to grant Rs 2,000 to every woman head of a family;
3. 'Anna Bhagya' - to distribute 10 kg rice to every member of BPL families every month;
4. 'Yuva Nidhi' - to sanction Rs 3,000 dole to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders for two years (in the 18-25 age-group);
5. 'Shakti' - to enable free travel for women across Karnataka in state buses.