Bengaluru, Dec. 20 -- Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday told the state assembly that 43.63% of the total expenditure on the state government's five guarantee schemes had gone to beneficiaries in North Karnataka, in a bid to counter the opposition's criticism that the region and its farmers were neglected by the state government.

The region accounted for 29.6 million of the state's estimated total population of 69.5 million, he said, adding that the M Govinda Rao committee, constituted to assess the current condition of the region, was likely to submit its report in January. "We had given time till November, but they have sought two more months... Once the report comes, we will receive it and try to implement it," he said.

The chief ...