Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday claimed that the Union government had released all the funds to Karnataka as recommended in the final report of the 15th Finance Commission. “There were some recommendations in the interim report that the Congress is repeatedly asking for on public forums. But there is no such recommendation in the final report,” she said at press meet.
However, Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda countered this at the public debate on the issue later in the day, displaying documents to prove his point. He said the 15th Finance Commission, since it delayed its report by a year, submitted a report for 2020-2021 in which it said it wants to ensure no State should suffer a loss of revenue for that fiscal due to its recommendations. “Karnataka was one such State and the FC recommended that the Union government fill this shortfall with a special grant of ₹5,495 crore. Next year, the 15th FC submitted its report for 2021-2026. The Finance Minister is misleading the people referring to the 2020-21 report as an interim report. The Union government has not given Karnataka the special grant which is due,” he said.
Meanwhile, he displayed documents to show that the 15th FC had recommended another special grant of over ₹6,000 crore for Karnataka in its report for 2021-2026, which Ms. Sitharaman referred to as the final report. “The Union government has asked the FC to withdraw its recommendation for the special grant, but the Finance Minister claims all recommendations in this report have been adhered to,” Mr. Gowda said.
