# Karnataka guarantees devour Mysuru civic funds, untied grants fall to Rs 3 crore 2026-08-19T14:47:58+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Mysuru City Corporation has received only Rs 3 crore in untied grants for the 2026-27 financial year, down from Rs 43 crore a decade ago, according to an analysis by Bengaluru-based organisation Janaagraha. The sharp decline is linked to Karnataka's practice of accounting for the cost of flagship guarantee schemes such as Gruha Lakshmi and Anna Bhagya as money devolved to local bodies, leaving virtually no discretionary funds for urban infrastructure. Gruha Lakshmi, which pays Rs 2,000 per month to 1.22 crore women, has a budget outlay of Rs 28,608 crore. Anna Bhagya provides 10 kg of free rice per month to BPL families. The state finance department deducts the cost of these schemes from the total pool meant for local governments before distributing the remainder. This accounting method means the cut is recorded as a payment, not a reduction, making it difficult to challenge politically. Janaagraha said no other state in its sample, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Odisha, uses the same practice. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The core issue is not the popularity of the guarantee schemes but how Karnataka budgets for them. By classifying scheme outlays as 'devolution' to local bodies, the state circumvents the constitutional requirement to transfer a share of taxes to urban and rural local governments. The Karnataka State Finance Commission's recommendations, which determine this share, appear to have been sidelined. The practical effect is that a city of 10 lakh people has Rs 3 crore to fix drains, roads and lakes for a full year, roughly Rs 30 per person. The next indicator to watch is whether the High Court or the State Finance Commission intervenes before the next budget. ## Coverage - swarajyamag.com Leads with the claim that guarantee schemes are consuming city funds, frames the accounting as a deliberate dodge, not a budget cut. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Janaagraha, Karnataka Budget, Mysuru City Corporation Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/karnataka-guarantees-devour-mysuru-civic-funds-untied-grants-fall-to-rs-3-crore/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/karnataka-guarantees-devour-mysuru-civic-funds-untied-grants-fall-to-rs-3-crore/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/