Tue Jan 07 14:04:52 UTC 2025: ## Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Reprimands Social Welfare Officials Over Slow Fund Utilization

**Bengaluru, January 7, 2025** – Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed strong dissatisfaction on Tuesday over the slow pace of fund utilization within the Social Welfare Department. He criticized officials for their tendency to spend allocated funds only towards the end of the financial year.

Of the ₹5,377 crore allocated for the 2024-25 fiscal year, ₹3,631 crore has been released, but only ₹2,892 crore has been utilized so far, the CM pointed out. He directed Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh to take strict action against officials responsible for the delays, including the immediate suspension of managing directors of corporations failing to spend allocated funds without sufficient explanation.

Siddaramaiah highlighted the poor performance of several corporations, including the B.R. Ambedkar Corporation (₹900 crore unutilized) and the Bhovi Corporation (₹107 crore unutilized). He issued a clear directive that pre-matric scholarships must be disbursed by September and post-matric scholarships by November each year. He also emphasized the need to eliminate Aadhaar-related delays to ensure all students are linked to the system. While ₹105 crore of the ₹164 crore allocated for pre-matric scholarships has been utilized, the allocated ₹230 crore for post-matric scholarships has been fully utilized.

The Chief Minister stressed the importance of timely implementation of welfare schemes to benefit marginalized communities and warned of severe consequences for inefficiency or negligence in delivering government benefits.

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