Karnataka govt moves to Supreme Court against centre for drought relief funds
Karnataka government sought the top court to direct the centre towards providing the National Drought Relief Fund (NDRF) to the southern state.
On Saturday, the Karnataka government filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the union government for not releasing drought funds to the state. It sought the top court to direct the centre towards providing the National Drought Relief Fund (NDRF) to the southern state.
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Speaking to reporters, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “The state has been hit by the severe drought, and we submitted a memorandum to the centre regarding this. A team from New Delhi has come to the state and submitted a report on the drought condition to the central government. According to law, action must be taken within a month after the report submission but the union government has still not decided on granting funds to the state.”
He further said that 48 lakh hectares of crops have been damaged in Karnataka due to drought, and three memorandums were sent to the Centre for drought relief. “Our ministers were denied appointments to meet central ministers in the national capital. I even met PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and explained to them the situation in the state. When PM Modi came to Karnataka recently, I also reminded him of the drought relief fund, but nothing has been provided yet,” he added.
In December, Siddaramaiah requested the Prime Minister to provide an input subsidy for the farmers in the state who are hit by the drought. As crop failure due to lack of rain led to a difficult situation, Siddaramaiah said that the farmers needed input subsidies and asked the central government to release the funds as a priority.
CM Siddaramaiah also briefed the Prime Minister about funds required for emergency relief, drinking water and the protection of cattle during the period of drought.
In October, 216 taluks out of the total of 236 taluks in Karnataka were declared as drought-affected, out of which 189 are severe drought-hit and 27 are moderate drought-hit taluks.