An RTI disclosure has revealed that more than Rs 33 crore of public funds were spent on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s one-day visit to Karnataka in February 2023, when he inaugurated the Shivamogga airport shortly before the state assembly elections.

According to information obtained three years later, the expenditure related to the event and associated programmes amounted to Rs 33.16 crore.

The prime minister had travelled to Shivamogga on February 27, 2023, where he inaugurated the airport and addressed a gathering. During the visit he also made a political appeal, urging voters to “vote for a double-engine government in future too”, reported Deccan Herald.

The RTI response, received in January 2026, shows that the inauguration event alone cost the exchequer Rs 18.81 crore.

The expenses covered a range of logistical arrangements. The report notes that “1,800 buses hired at a cost of Rs 4.11 crore to bring people from various places for Modi’s event. Over Rs 1.8 crore was spent for two heads of works: waterproof German structure truss pandal for the main stage dais and green room, model presentation stalls and flower decoration for the prime minister, the governor, the chief minister and others”, reports the newspaper.

After the inauguration ceremony, Modi travelled to Belagavi by a special aircraft and later continued by helicopter before taking part in a roadshow. While the cost of the air travel itself has not been specified, documents obtained through RTI indicate that Rs 14.35 crore were spent on arrangements connected with this leg of the trip as well, including Rs 2.5 crore for buses to transport attendees.

The RTI reply was secured by information rights activist and Lanchamuktha Karnataka member Manjunath Hirechowti, who had initially filed the request in March 2023. He eventually received the information only in January this year after approaching the state information commission and obtaining a favourable order.

The records also indicate that the state public works department bypassed the normal tendering procedure by invoking section 4(g) of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act.

Commenting on the expenditure, Manjunath said that “Public money is not a campaign resource. Development projects must not become platforms for political projection in the months leading up to elections. India needs a statutory pre-election expenditure control mechanism, as there is no financial restraint before the model code of conduct comes into force. Without reform, taxpayers will continue to bear the burden of politically timed extravagance.”

When contacted about the spending, former public works minister C.C. Patil, who held the portfolio when the BJP governed the state, said he could not recall the precise amount spent on the visit.

The disclosure adds to earlier reports examining the financial implications of official visits by the prime minister during politically sensitive periods.

Previous reporting had highlighted how such events often coincide with election campaigns.

The Indian Express, for instance, had earlier reported that civic bodies in Karnataka spent about Rs 56 crore on arrangements for a daylong visit by Modi on International Yoga Day.