It seems that the Congress government’s model of governance is centered around promising freebies before elections, only to impose taxes and raise prices on essential commodities after forming the government. Ever since the Congress government has come to power in the state of Karnataka, it has time and again resorted to fare hikes and imposing new taxes only to burden the general public. The Karnataka Government led by the Congress Party is a classic example to showcase the negative impacts the freebie culture brings along with itself.
At the latest, Bengaluru’s Namma Metro is gearing up for a fare hike of 40-45 percent, following approval from the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) board on Friday. This marks the first fare revision since 2017. Earlier this month, a government-appointed committee recommended an increase in metro fares to better align with operational costs and future expansions.
Currently, Namma Metro fares range from ₹10 to ₹60. While the exact details of the revised pricing and its implementation date are yet to be announced, sources suggest that the maximum fare may rise to ₹85. The decision to hike fares follows recommendations made by a three-member Fare Fixation Committee led by Justice (Retired) R. Tharani. The committee evaluated various factors, including operational costs, revenue deficits, and commuter patterns, concluding that a 40-50 percent hike would strike a balance between sustainability for the corporation and affordability for commuters. BMRCL currently generates daily revenues of over ₹2 crore. With the fare hike, an additional profit of ₹80-90 lakh per day is anticipated.
Bangalore Central MP PC Mohan expressed his disappointment with the decision for fare hikes. He took to twitter to write ‘Disappointed by BMRCL’s decision to impose a 45% fare hike, ignoring my appeal to reconsider.’
The Karnataka Government has consistently introduced and imposed various taxes since its formation. On the 2nd of January, the Karnataka Government led by the Congress party announced regarding the hike in bus prices which got implemented from the 5th of January. The bus prices got increased by 15 percent across its four state-run transport corporations that are Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC), North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).
The Shakti scheme brought by the Congress Government of Karnataka as a freebie was being held as the reason for the increased bus prices as the Shakti scheme promises to provide free bus travel for women on state-run buses which is costing the government approximately Rs 417 crore monthly.The Congress Government is hell bent to retain the cost of freebies it promised to sway the Karnataka Assembly elections.
The Karnataka Government had also come out with a proposal to introduce a “green cess” of Rs 2 to Rs 3 on monthly water bills for municipalities and corporations drawing water from rivers in the Western Ghats. Congress Governments and their obsession to burden the people under their administration with different kinds of tax is unmatched. The Congress government in Karnataka has also raised milk prices twice since coming to power. In July 2023, the price of milk increased by ₹3 per litre, followed by another hike of ₹2 per litre in June 2024, implemented by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF). Additionally, the government has also increased fuel prices by ₹3 through a revision in the state sales tax. The tax on petrol was raised from 25.92% to 29.84%, while diesel tax went up from 14.34% to 18.44%. As a result, the price of petrol in Karnataka now stands at ₹102.86 per litre, and diesel costs ₹88.94 per litre after the hike.
Even after the economists, experts and the Supreme Court of India have repeatedly cautioned against offering freebies calling them detrimental to long-term economic health. Yet the oldest party seems to be sacrificing Karnataka’s health for its petty political gains.