Bengaluru, Oct 14 — Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday said the state government would submit a proposal to the GST Council seeking a share of Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue for rural and urban local bodies to improve their financial position and strengthen decentralised governance.
Responding to the proposal to provide a share of GST revenue to local bodies, the Chief Minister said the government would place the matter before the GST Council.
He also said a proposal would be sought from the minister concerned on establishing the Karnataka Panchayat Administrative Service.
Speaking after chairing a meeting of the Karnataka State Decentralisation Planning and Development Committee at his official residence, Krishna, CM Shivakumar stressed that the government would take necessary measures to improve the financial condition of gram panchayats and further strengthen the decentralisation system.
The government will constitute a committee under the chairmanship of the Rural Development Minister to examine the recommendations of the Fifth State Finance Commission concerning financial devolution and administrative reforms. The committee will assess the recommendations that can be implemented and submit a report, he said.
According to the Chief Minister, Rs 1,261 crore has been released to gram panchayats, Rs 557 crore to taluk panchayats, and Rs 183 crore to zilla panchayats in accordance with the Fifth State Finance Commission report.
He said the government would also take steps to ensure that urban local bodies function effectively in keeping with the objectives of the 74th Constitutional Amendment. Consultations would be held with experts from the National Law School of India University on suitable amendments to the relevant laws.
The Chief Minister said urban local bodies should formulate and implement development plans through ward meetings, similar to gram sabhas in rural areas.
He noted that district, taluk, and village-level planning committees had already been constituted and directed them to hold meetings every three months and submit reports regularly.
CM Shivakumar said the state budget had announced the implementation of the 'People's Plan' to incorporate public demands from the grassroots into the state budget.
He directed the Rural Development and Urban Development departments to issue appropriate guidelines and develop the necessary software. Funds should also be provided to establish planning management units at district and taluk levels.
The government has instructed all departments to prepare responsibility maps specifying their roles in implementing schemes related to gram, taluk, and zilla panchayats. The departments have been asked to submit the maps within the stipulated timeframe.
The Chief Minister directed officials to expedite the demarcation of village habitation boundaries using data from the SVAMITVA scheme, with the Panchayat Raj and Revenue departments working in coordination.
He also expressed concern over the reduction in gram panchayat revenue following the withdrawal of their authority to levy taxes on industries by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB).
He said the law provides for 30 per cent of the property tax collected by the authority to be shared with gram panchayats. He directed officials to submit complete details of the tax collected by KIADB and the amounts distributed to gram panchayats.
The government aims to strengthen local governance by improving financial resources, administrative coordination and public participation in planning and development, he added.