Government to evaluate impact of guarantee and other schemes

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Krishna Byre Gowda addressing presspersons after a Cabinet meeting at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Amid concerns about huge spending on welfare schemes without proper targeting of beneficiaries, the Karnataka Cabinet has decided to take up the evaluation of the implementation of various government schemes, including the guarantees.

Titled ‘Project K-Monitor’, the evaluation process would be taken up across all the Assembly constituencies of the State.

Briefing media persons after the Cabinet meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the evaluation process would be taken up in two phases over eight months. In the first phase, one lakh beneficiaries would be covered under the surveys, while 60,000 beneficiaries would be covered under the second phase.

The intention was to understand the impact of the government schemes so that measures for their effective implementation could be taken, the Minister said. “So far, we have only focused on the implementation of various schemes, but we have now decided to evaluate their impact so that we can change the method of the implementation of schemes that have failed to bring about major impact,” he said.

He said the Praja Seva Department would handle this initiative. The initiative, being taken at a cost of ₹14 crore, aims to establish a systematic mechanism to monitor the progress of government schemes, assess the benefits reaching the public, evaluate departmental performance and identify implementation gaps. The monitoring system would collect information on public service delivery, infrastructure, employment opportunities and other administrative outcomes. It would also help identify problems in implementation and facilitate corrective action, the Minister said.

The evaluation process would cover key sectors, including water resources, agriculture, healthcare, education and urban development, he said.

The Cabinet approved a grant of ₹228.95 crore for the construction and infrastructure development of the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Sainik School at Sangolli. The funds would be used to improve school buildings, laboratories, the library, sports facilities and other essential infrastructure. The school, which commenced operations in 2022, currently has 540 students studying from classes 6 to 10.

The State Cabinet has decided to set up a Karnataka Adivasi Development Board for the welfare of vulnerable tribal groups living in forests and their fringe areas.

The corporation would focus on the welfare of tribal communities, including the Irula, Soliga, Jenu Kuruba, Kadu Kuruba, Kudiyas and Siddis and the sensitive Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups living in forest and forest fringe regions, Mr. Gowda said.

With an approved allocation of ₹33.36 crore, the corporation would provide financial assistance towards entrepreneurship, skill development, market linkages, livelihood opportunities, education and the development of basic amenities in the areas of these communities.

The Winter Session of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly would be held in Belagavi from November 30 as per the schedule finalised by the State Cabinet on Thursday.

Earlier, an official communication for deliberation at the previous meeting of the State Cabinet had indicated the date for the commencement of the Winter Session as December 7. However, now, the Cabinet has opted for an earlier schedule.