The tagline ‘double engine sarkaara’ or twin-engine government was coined by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to highlight special advantages a state has over others when it elects the party, which also runs the Union government. But in Karnataka, the ‘double engine sarkara’ has been a failure and the state is being penalised for its efficiency, says a report by Bahutva Karnataka, a forum for justice, harmony and solidarity.
The forum has given the incumbent government a failing grade of ‘F’ for the state’s declining federal status. The forum also released similar report cards highlighting the present status of sectors like health, nutrition and education etc in the state. The report on federalism was released on April 19 in Bengaluru’s Press Club.
The 7th schedule of the Constitution specifies distribution of powers and responsibilities between Union and State governments by categorising subjects as Union, State or Concurrent. It is this distribution of power that upholds the principles of federalism in India. As per this arrangement, the Union government keeps major sources of tax revenues collected but is constitutionally mandated to share the revenues with the states according to the recommendations of the Finance Commission. For the centrally sponsored schemes, some funds are to be made available by the state governments. As per the norms, the Union government cannot discriminate between state governments on the basis of which political party is in power in the state.
According to the report, financially, Karnataka’s share of central taxes and GST, and funds for Centrally sponsored schemes has declined significantly during the last five years. The report states that Karnataka is the biggest loser under the changed formula of tax devolution to the states. “The state’s share in the divisible pool has dropped from 4.71% (under the 14th Finance Commission) to 3.64% (under the 15th Finance Commission for 2021-26). Karnataka now receives Rs40 for every Rs100 tax revenue that it contributes, down from Rs 53 before,” the report said.
“Despite a net higher tax devolution to states, Karnataka received a lower amount than before because of population based distribution criteria and lower Plan Grants for Central Schemes. States like Karnataka that have done well on resource mobilisation, population growth control and implementation of Central schemes are effectively being penalised for their efficiency,” added the report.
The report also mentioned that the state has been getting a pittance for natural calamity relief – be it flood or drought. “It took three months for the Centre to release funds for flood relief in 2021 after former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa made a personal appeal to the Prime Minister for funds,” said the report.
The report also noted that the state government has not sufficiently resisted the Union government’s tendency to impose linguistic and cultural norms on states. “The state government has, in fact, encouraged it or stayed silent. Imposition of Hindi in particular is a sign of coercive rather than cooperative federalism,” it said. Citing various reasons like the plea for a state flag being turned down, the state’s plea for conduct of competitive examinations for Union Government in Kannada being ignored, lack of support for Kannada etc, the forum said the government has failed to take up the cause of Kannadigas.
Here are other issues highlighted by the forum which makes it believe that the Union Government has been overstepping the boundaries of the federal system and ignoring the best interests of the state:
1) Resolution of the Mahadayi water sharing dispute – Though the BJP vowed to resolve the dispute there has been silence on the issue despite all stakeholders being states with BJP in power.
2) Amul’s entry into the Bengaluru retail market – This is seen as a direct challenge to Karnataka Milk Federation’s Nandini. This move is being regarded as a lack of trust in the Union government’s intentions with regard to cooperatives. The forum believes that the government has done little to oppose the recent developments despite dairy cooperatives being profitable ventures and important for farmers and the people of Karnataka.
3) Enforcement of NEET – The national eligibility entrance test for undergraduate medical courses has been flagged by Tamil Nadu as being in violation of the principles of federalism since it falls under the ambit of public health – a state subject. The forum believes that the Karnataka government has stayed silent on the issue.
4) The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) which holds exams for recruitment to Public Sector Banks began conducting the exams in only English and Hindi in 2014. Earlier the same examination was conducted in all 13 regional languages. The forum says the Karnataka government has done little to undo this injustice to the people of the state.
ALSO READ: Drastic decline in learning levels in state schools: Bahutva Karnataka report