The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed eight resolutions calling on the Union Government to resolve long-pending issues related to regional imbalance, healthcare, irrigation, ethanol allocation, reservation policy and the concentration of institutions, with particular emphasis on the development of Kalyana Karnataka and North Karnataka.
The House also raised concerns over what it described as discriminatory ethanol allocation to Karnataka under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme.
Moving the resolution, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said despite bumper sugarcane and maize production in 2025–26 and a substantial increase in ethanol manufacturing capacity, the state continued to receive disproportionately low ethanol offtake through oil marketing companies.
“States with lower capacity are getting higher allocations,” he claimed, warning that inadequate offtake had forced sugar mills and ethanol units to operate below capacity, delaying payments to farmers.
The resolution sought an immediate hike in Karnataka’s ethanol quota, policy reforms and a detailed study to align allocations with actual capacity, reported PTI.
Presenting the resolutions, Patil said Kalyana Karnataka had remained backward for decades, especially in education and healthcare, with health indicators significantly below both state and national averages.
He pointed out that Raichur ranked the lowest on the state income index among districts in the region and pressed for the immediate establishment of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) there.
“Raichur is geographically central to the seven districts of Kalyana Karnataka and is easily accessible to people from neighbouring districts of Telangana,” Patil said.
He added that setting up an AIIMS would ensure quality super-specialty healthcare and advanced medical education for more than one crore people living in the backward region.
Patil noted that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had already written to and met the Prime Minister to seek approval for the project.
Through another resolution, the Assembly demanded an annual Special Central Assistance of ₹5,000 crore for Kalyana Karnataka, matching the state’s allocation to the Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board (KKRDB).
Referring to the D M Nanjundappa Committee report, Patil said districts such as Ballari, Vijayanagar, Bidar, Koppal, Raichur, Kalaburagi and Yadgir recorded per capita incomes nearly 80 per cent lower than Bengaluru.
“The social, educational and economic backwardness of Kalyana Karnataka is a national concern,” the resolution stated, adding that addressing it was a shared responsibility of both the state and the Union governments.
Drawing comparisons with Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, members pointed out that despite the provisions of Article 371(J), Kalyana Karnataka had not received any matching central grant over the past decade.
On the Mahadayi issue, the Assembly asserted that the water dispute had been conclusively settled and the tribunal’s award notified.
Although Karnataka had been allotted 3.90 TMC of water for the Kalasa-Banduri project, Patil said approvals continued to be delayed by the National Board for Wildlife, despite there being no stay or adverse order from the Supreme Court.
“Unwarranted delays are blocking constitutionally protected projects and weakening the federal structure,” the resolution said, urging the Centre to clear all pending approvals.
The House also resolved to seek inclusion of Karnataka’s reservation laws in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. Noting that the state’s total reservation stood at 56 per cent and faced multiple legal challenges, the resolution said such inclusion was necessary to protect the interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
Describing the Krishna Upper Basin Project as a “lifeline” covering nearly 25 per cent of the state’s irrigated area, the Assembly demanded that it be declared a National Project.
Patil said that despite investments of ₹17,500 crore, irrigation potential remained underutilised. With all disputes resolved, he added, there was no impediment to granting national project status.
The House further urged the Union Government to decentralise institutions from Bengaluru.
Pointing out that 73 nationally important institutions were concentrated in and around the capital, the resolution said Kalyana Karnataka and North Karnataka were being denied equitable development.
It called for the phased relocation of at least 25 per cent of these institutions to North Karnataka to promote balanced and inclusive growth.
Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka, however, said the resolutions were an attempt to target the Centre and shift the blame for the state government’s shortcomings.
