CM releases ₹50 crore development grant to each MLA; to hold meeting with legislators on July 30 and 31

The Hindu

18-07-2025

After a series of one-on-one meetings with Congress MLAs and Ministers by AICC general secretary in-charge of the State Randeep Singh Surjewala, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has approved the release of ₹50 crore as development grants for each MLA.
In a bid to gain the confidence of the legislators, particularly those of the Congress, the Chief Minister decided to hold meetings with MLAs district wise on July 30 and 31 at the State Secretariat.
Utilisation plan
As per the note signed by Mr. Siddaramaiah, out of the ₹50 crore, the MLAs have been instructed to utilise ₹37.5 crore for roads and bridge works under the Public Works Department, both in rural areas, and other works in urban areas. The remaining ₹12.5 crore can be utilised for other department works identified by MLAs in their respective constituencies.
The funds would be released from the Chief Minister's Infrastructure Development Programme (CMIDP), and ₹8,000 crore has been allocated in the State Budget for 2025-26.
The release of the grants is expected to ease discontent within the Congress, where some MLAs had publicly criticised the delay. The taking up of development works at the local level is also expected to benefit the party in the civic and local body elections in the State.
Internal discussions
The decision to release funds came after weeks of internal discussions and mounting pressure from party MLAs who had complained of fund shortage for taking up development works in their constituencies. During the meeting with Mr. Surjewala, the party MLAs expressed disappointment over the lack of financial support. Later, Mr. Surjewala held a meeting with Mr. Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and reportedly took up the issue of release of funds for legislators.
It may be noted that Congress MLA for Kagwad Raju Kage had threatened to resign over the delay in implementing development works in his constituency and blamed the government for denying funds for the past two years.