‘Majestic’ Rama temple, ₹100 crore for Anjanadri, ₹1000 crore for Mathas in Karnataka budget

Rama Mandira, Anjanadri Hill get a push

In the 2023-24 fiscal budget, Bommai announced that the state government would construct a “majestic” Rama temple at Ramadevara Betta in the Ramanagara district.

However, the chief minister, who is also a finance minister, did not allocate any grants for the construction of temple.

“We have only announced the construction of a Rama temple in Ramanagara. The funds for the project have not been announced as the detailed project report (DPR) is yet to be prepared,” Bommai told reporters.

“After the DPR is submitted. We will allocate grants in the supplementary budget for the temple,” he added.

It can be recalled that Ramanagara district in-charge minister CN Ashwath Narayan had urged the chief minister to constitute a development committee to build a temple there on the lines of the Sri Ram temple in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

With an aim to develop the basic amenities, Bommai allocated ₹100 crore for the Anjanadri Hills in his interim budget.

“In the Anjanadri hill of the Koppal district, which is known as the birthplace of Lord Anjaneya, a detailed project has been formulated involving various works at an estimated cost of ₹100 crore to provide basic facilities to the tourists and a tender has been invited,” said Bommai.

Last year, the state government announced the development of Anjanadri Hills as a world-class religious tourist destination.

Religious adventure and eco-friendly tourism

In this interim budget, Bommai not only focused on developing religious places but also turning them into religious adventure and environment-friendly tourism sites.

Bommai said: “The Union government has agreed to relax the Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZ) guidelines, which was a longstanding demand of the people of the coastal region. Against this backdrop, policies will be framed to encourage religious adventure and environmentally friendly tourism.”

He added: “The approval has been provided for the comprehensive development of Chamundi Hill of Mysuru City under the ‘PRASAD’ programme of the Union Tourism Ministry.”

Announcing the development of various religious heritage places, Bommai said: “The tomb of Shahaji Maharaj at Hodigere in Channagiri taluk of Davanagere district will be developed at a cost of ₹5 crore and basic amenities will be provided. Similarly, the historical 12th-century Nagareshwara temple with 101 pillars constructed in Bankapura in the Haveri district will be developed as a tourist spot.”

“A grant will be provided for the comprehensive development of the complexes of Sannati Chandralamba Temple and Ganagapura Dattatreya Temple in Kalaburagi and Madhukeshwara Temple of Banavasi,” announced Bommai.

Bommai also assured of providing a special grant from the government for the celebration of Karaga Utsava which is an integral part of the culture and religious fervour of Bengaluru.

Mathas get bounty in the interim budget

Ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls, Bommai made sure that with the available resources, he could satisfy religious heads and mathas wooing their community folks in his interim budget. Seers of religious mathas continue to be influential among community members and their support is crucial in elections.

Recalling the grants allocated for the temples and mathas in the previous budget, Bommai said: “The government allocated ₹425 crore for the renovation of temples and mathas by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department in 2022-23.”

“In the next two years, comprehensive development and renovation of various temples and mathas will be undertaken by the state government with an expenditure of ₹1,000 crore,” announced Bommai. However, he did not disclose anything about the distribution of grants to specific temples and mathas of the state.

He said: “The annuity payable to Inam Lands of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department will be enhanced from ₹48,000 to ₹60,000. As many as 3,721 institutions will be benefitted from this increase.”

“In 2022-23 a grant of ₹375 crore was sanctioned to 1,115 institutes of various mathas belonging to the backward class communities for social and educational activities,” added Bommai.

Welfare schemes for minorities

In the interim budget, CM Bommai declared numerous welfare schemes for minorities, mainly for students.

Stating that the government gave emphasis on the welfare of students of Minority communities, Bommai said: “Around 97 percent of the students who were studying in the 10th Standard in the hostels of Minorities have passed the exams. Out of these, 90 percent of the students passed in first class.”

“To provide quality higher education to these students, the strength of 100 post-matric hostels has been increased to 2,500. In the current year, 31 residential schools, pre-matric and post-matric hostel buildings of the department of minority welfare are being constructed at a cost of Rs 96 crores which will benefit 7,800 students,” stated Bommai.

Stressing the safety of girls, Bommai said: “The government will provide self-defence training to girl students studying in residential schools of department of minority welfare at the cost of ₹2 crore.”

“Minority students who wish to undertake graduate and postgraduate education abroad in prestigious universities having a global ranking within 250, an interest subsidy will be provided with zero percent interest rate for up to ₹20 lakh per person,” declared Bommai.

He said: “To ensure better employment opportunities and to start own enterprises, 300 women graduates of minorities will be provided with entrepreneurship training in IIMB, at a cost of ₹3 crore.”

“There are more than 40,000 Wakf properties in the state. In the next fiscal year, a grant of ₹10 crore will be provided for the conservation and development of these properties and ₹10 crore in grants will be provided for the development of Khabarstans (graveyards),” announced Bommai.

Bommai also assured of providing priority for the educational, economic and social development of the Pinjara, Darvesh and Nadaf communities which are the most backward among the Minorities, in all the programmes of the Karnataka Minority Development Corporation (KMDC).

“In the last budget, ₹60 crore was provided to the KMDC. This amount is increased significantly in the present budget and Rs 110 crore is being provided. Including the additional grants provided to these organisations and the amount available with-it various programmes will be implemented at a total cost of ₹306 crore in 2023-24,” said Bommai.