Panel recommends abolition of Malnad and Bayaluseeme boards, overhaul of KKRDB functioning

The Karnataka Regional Imbalances Redressal Committee (2026), headed by economist M. Govinda Rao, has reviewed the functioning of regional development boards such as the Malnad Area Development Board, Bayaluseeme Development Board, Karavali Development Board, Karnataka Border Area Development Authority, and Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB), and found that they have not made the desired impact in redressing backwardness.

The panel said the Malnad Board and Bayaluseeme Board, working for more than three decades, have not made contributions to overcome infrastructure issues and recommended their abolition.

The panel recommended revamping the Regional and District Planning units in the Planning Department to work with the Zilla Panchayats in preparing the District Development Plans to redress the backlog in different social and physical infrastructure within the next five years.

KKRDB overhaul

The panel said that KKRDB, established in 2013 under Article 371 (J) of the Constitution to address regional imbalances, should be overhauled in view of operational failures and poor fund allocation.

It said that various apex-level committees under it are non-functional, and there was inordinate delay in the works’ implementation. “The ad hoc nature of planning and the Annual Action Plan submitted by KKRDB to the government has not specified targets to be achieved,” the report added.

The panel opposed the Board’s allocation of funds to the universities and said the Higher Education Department should ensure funds to universities. The panel also noted serious shortcomings in the allocation to projects made by the Board during the period from 2013-14 to 2024-25.

Funds allocation

The report noted that of the total allocation of ₹19,694.31 crore during this period, 50.8% was for roads and bridges. The share of education was 29.3%, health 6.9%, and water supply 2.1%. All other sectors received less than 1%. The share of irrigation was as low as 0.7%, agriculture 1% and tourism 0.6%.

It said the KKRDB’s spending plan had no connection with the prioritisation indicated in the Dr. D.M. Nanjundappa committee report (2002).

On schools and teachers

On schools, it said Kalaburagi division has 6,590 schools and about 17,274 teacher vacancies in elementary schools and 4,107 vacancies in secondary schools. “It is important to rationalise those schools having no enrolment and consolidate those with less than 25 children,” the Rao panel suggested.

More funds

In 2025-26, the government allocated ₹5,000 crore to the KKRDB, and their productive use will depend on advance planning and implementation of projects, the panel said.

The panel also recommends that the assistance should continue to be provided to the Kalaburagi division in the next five years to get comparable status in infrastructure development.

The panel said the assistance of ₹5,000 crore to KKRDB should be increased by 5% every year to adjust for inflation so that by 2030-31, the grant amount increases to ₹6,381 crore, totalling ₹29,009 crore from 2026-27 to 2030-31. The panel said, “This expenditure should be in addition to the regular expenditure on various services incurred by the State.”