Mysuru, 13 November

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expedite drought relief to farmers in Karnataka, revise the prices of sugarcane as per the demands of farmers in the State, withdraw the recommendations of the Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats and provide statutory clearances for the Mekedatu dam. 

Shivakumar on Friday both submitted a memorandum to Modi as well as spoke about the issues to him orally. 

FARMERS 

Noting that Karnataka was facing its second worst drought in 70 years, Shivakumar in his memorandum stated that of the State's 240 taluks, 226 had been declared drought-affected, while nearly 58 lakh hectares of crops had suffered damage. The estimated losses stood at Rs 62,482 crore.

The State had sought Rs 22,400.58 crore in assistance under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), and Shivakumar asked Modi to expedite its release. 

On sugarcane, Shivakumar said that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of sugar had remained unchanged at Rs 31 per kg since 2019. He said the protesting farmers were demanding Rs 5,500 per tonne against the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of Rs 3,650 per tonne for the 2026-27 season, adding that MSP too needed to be hiked given the rising production costs.

Shivakumar said there was an “urgent need” to frame a policy to ensure that ethanol and other byproducts are accounted for when fixing prices

MEKEDATU 

“Sir, you just saw the dam on the Cauvery. The Supreme Court has delivered a clear verdict to all of us that Mekedatu has to be built in Karnataka, and no one can stop it. We want you to help us legally," Shivakumar told Modi.

He urged the Centre to provide statutory clearances so that work could commence on building the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir near his home town of Kanakapura. Shivakumar reiterated that the dam will help Tamil Nadu. This comes after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay wrote to Modi asking him not to give clearances for the dam. 

KASTURIRANGAN REPORT 

On the Western Ghats, Shivakumar said the Karnataka Legislature had unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Kasturirangan report's recommendations after public consultations across the affected regions, and urged Modi to withdraw the report. 

Based on the report, the Centre issued a draft notification proposing to declare 56,000 sq km across six states as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). 

In Karnataka, 20,668 sq km covering 33 taluks and 1,449 villages in 10 districts (Belagavi, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Hassan, Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru, Shivamogga and Udupi) would fall under the ESA. The State says this would adversely affect farmers' livelihoods and future development.

CSR FUNDS & MIGRATION 

Shivakumar asked the Centre to align corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives with the state's guidelines to help upgrade 1,000 government schools into Karnataka Public Schools.

Shivakumar said that migration had risen from 31 per cent in 2002 to 47 per cent in 2026 and could touch 70 per cent in the next two decades if the trend continued. He linked this to the lack of quality primary education in rural areas and said that if the Centre changes its CSR rules, the State could upgrade Karnataka Public Schools in rural areas.