Something basically wrong with Karnataka?

Something basically wrong with Karnataka?
Is there anything basically wrong with the psyche of the people, the government and the politicians of Karnataka, that it always gets a raw deal from the Centre, whichever party government may be in power at the Centre or the State.
The latest instance has been the totally raw deal that the Karnataka has got in the Railway budget. The State finds that it has been byepassed in almost all major sectors. On the paper, the state gets four new trains. But if you deep into the matter, the Karnataka connection remains limited to Bangalore being the station of origin. None of them serve the state in any way and mostly serve the states other than Karnataka.
The allocation to the ongoing projects be it the new line projects, the gauge conversion or the doubling of lines is poor. It has also been the same fate of the four railway projects, which are being executed on the cost sharing basis, with the State Government meeting part of the costs. Uncertainty dogs the Solapur Bijapur Bagalkot Gadag conversion works, which continues to be metegauge island hampering the movement of the goods traffic. There is no word as to when the work which has been lingering on for more than a decade would be completed. The continued delay has made the investment already made in providing the broadgauge link upto Bijapur also infructuous. The railways are not getting the return for the investment for the delay in the completion of the scheme, which would open a new internal corridor for the movement of the goods traffic between the north and the south.
On the other hand the Bihar and Tamilnadu have walked away with the lionshare of the projects. One can understand Bihar being favoured by the Railway Minister, who belongs to Bihar. The Tamilnadu, which has only a minister of state in the Railways, has managed to walk away with the bigger slice of the cake of railway projects. Karantaka had had more than half a dozen ministers, who held the charge as the Railway Minister. Karnataka did not benefit in anyway, except during the tenure of Mr. Jaffer Sharief as the Railway Minister. But for the initiative taken by Mr. Sharief, Karnataka would not have got its broadgauge net work completed. Had Mr. Sharief not made his exit under the shadow of a scandal, perhaps, the Solapur-Gadag broadgauging would have been complete.
This is not the first time that Karnataka has been given this treatment. The continued cavalier treatment meted out to Karnataka in meeting its legitimate development needs should make Karnataka people think as to what is wrong with us. It is clear that Karnataka’s needs are not taken seriously by the powers that be in Newdelhi, whether or not the Central government is friendly to the State are not.
As for as railway projects are concerned, the Karnataka’s raw deal has its origin in our own inability to put across the views to the Centre at the right time and do the follow-up matter. At no time any of the State Governments in Karnataka, have done the follow-up work seriously to impress on the Centre. The State writes letter only when there is local pressure. Otherwise it hardly bothers. And forgets after writing the letter. The Karnataka got the new Railway Zone not because the State Government did anything worthwhile but only because the Railways wanted to give it.
This is not happening only in the railway sector. But in other sectors as well. When Congress ruled both Centre and Karnataka, the state could not get the permanent bench of the Karnataka High Court for Northern Karnataka. Karnataka always finds that in the interstate disputes, it is at the receiving end with the opponents, including the tiny state of Goa cocking a snook as it were to the state. Andhra Pradesh had got the issue decided in favour, when a dispute about the height of the Alamatti dam had been raised during the days of Mr. Devegowda as the Prime Minister.
No state government in Karnataka has bothered to utilize the services of the MPs in any effective manner. No information is given or shared with them on the pending projects and for carrying the lobbying in Newdelhi. When Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde was the Chief Minister, he had started the practice of periodically publishing the correspondence with the Central Government with a view to keeping people posted with the efforts being made. But the practice has been subsequently stopped for reasons known to them by his successors.
Karnataka, has hardly bothered to post a Representative in Newdelhi to chase the projects. Mr. Basavaraj Rayareddy appointed as one during the Patel regime had done excellent work but the tenure was too shortlived. Krishna had appointed Jayachadra more to placate him for having dropped from the ministry than doing any lobbying.
Another basic malady which has been affecting Karnataka, is the inability on the part of the politicians to rise above the narrow partisan considerations as for as the development matters are concerned. While Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh are known to do that and always walk away with the prize, partisan approach of the politicians has always affected the state very badly.
It is high time, the politicians do some soul searching and concentrate on doing some good turn to the state.
(ends) 20:58 hrs. 25-Feb-06
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