BJP Rajya Sabha Member from Karnataka, Lahar Singh Siroya, stated on Friday that the overall performance of the government in Karnataka is down and revenue targets are not being met, according it's own assessment.
Lahar Singh, quoting a news report, stated on Friday that the government in Karnataka will fail to meet its revenue targets for the financial year 2025-26.
The state government's own estimates say that between now and March 2026, when the financial year ends, it will be possible to raise only a small part of the remaining Rs 65,000 crore.
Referring to individual departments, the news report says, it is being estimated that there may be a loss of Rs 9,000 crore in commercial tax collection itself, he noted.
He further said, "The government under the stewardship of Siddaramaiah as both Chief Minister and Finance Minister had set a revenue target of Rs 2.03 lakh crore. So far, between March and December 2025 the government has apparently been able to raise only Rs 1.38 lakh crore."
The transport department has said it may fall short by 10 per cent of its revenue targets. The stamps and registration department has met only 65 per cent of its target so far, he said.
The only department that feels confident of meeting its target is the excise department. Although the consumption of beer has come down, it is said the sale of hard liquor has gone up, he said.
"It is common knowledge that the five guarantees have emptied the state coffers. Even with the guarantees the state government has not been consistent in their disbursal," he slammed.
According to another news report, the overall progress made by the government in governance terms (utilisation and disbursal of funds and grants across various departments) is only 51.6 per cent. This performance level is 6 per cent lesser than the government's performance last year around the same time, he stated.
This assessment was made in a meeting presided over by the state's chief secretary in December 2025, Siroya underlined.
Only a few days back CM Siddaramaiah was comparing himself to former CM late Devaraj Urs as longest serving chief minister. His sycophants have also been loudly speaking about his record as finance minister. Now it is clear that Siddaramaiah's records have not served the people of the state but only himself, Siroya slammed.
(With inputs from IANS)
