Kalaburagi, 27 April

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said the Centre has  approved Rs 3,499 crore as drought relief and released only Rs 3,454 crore and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give the balance amount as soon as possible. The amount sanctioned by the Centre is not even a quarter of the state's demand, he said.

The Chief Minister thanked the Supreme Court for warning the Central government and providing some drought relief to the state. He also recalled the protests held in Delhi in February to get the rights of the people of Karnataka.

"According to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) rules, the state was supposed to be paid Rs 18,171 crore, but the Central government has only approved Rs 3,498.98 crore. This money is not sufficient for the drought relief. Our fight for the arrears will continue," he told reporters here.

The chief minister said that the union government did not give the drought relief fund out of concern for Karnataka but it was forced to release money after the state government approached the Supreme Court and pleaded about the drought situation. "The Supreme Court, which heard this petition, was convinced that the Centre was doing injustice to Karnataka due to political reasons," Siddaramaiah alleged.

During the hearing, the Centre promised to the Supreme Court that the drought relief would be given within a week. "This relief money has been given out of unwillingness to fulfill the promise made to the apex court," he added.

Neither the BJP leaders nor the Central government have any role in this. This is the result of the Supreme Court's concerns for the agriculture sector and the farmers of the state, he claimed. "The reason for announcing the grant was the fear that if some relief is not given, the people of Karnataka who are drought-hit will not allow them (BJP leaders) to enter the state for the election campaign. If the BJP leaders of the state are going to portray this small relief as their achievement, I request the people of the state to give them a befitting reply," the chief minister said.

"Whatever be the reasons behind this drought relief, I would like to thank the Central government for the relief provided. I urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release the balance relief funds as soon as possible," he added.

He also requested the Centre to rectify the injustice in tax devolution. Siddaramaiah said the state government had declared 223 taluks as drought affected on September 13, 2023. It has been seven months now. Crop damage has been reported at 48 lakh hectares and this resulted in a loss of Rs 35,162 crore, he said.

The compensation Karnataka had sought from the Central government was Rs 18,171 crore, which is about half of the demand. The Centre gave Rs 3,454 crore, which is very low, Siddaramaiah said, adding, the next course of action will be decided after discussing this with the officers.

He alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had lied that the state submitted the memorandum late.

Siddaramaiah said he met PM Modi on December 19, 2023 and brought to his notice the dire drought situation in the state and the plight of the farmers, and submitted the memorandum to release Rs 18,171 crore at the earliest. For the first time in the history of India, the Supreme Court had to intervene and as a result, very little relief was provided after the directive, he said.