Congress leaders alleged that the Union government hasn't released even quarter of the funds sought by Karnataka as drought relief.
CM Siddaramaiah, Dy CM DK Shivakumar and MP and general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala staging a protest over release of drought relief fund (X)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy DK Shivakumar along with several ministers and legislators on Sunday, 28 April, staged a dharna in Bengaluru, alleging injustice done to the state by the union government while releasing the drought relief funds.
Holding ‘Chombu’, a water pot symbolising emptiness and deception, the leaders charged the Centre with “cheating” Karnataka by not releasing adequate relief to face acute drought, the kind of which was not witnessed in the past several decades.
They held the symbolic dharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the premises of “Vidhana Soudha”, which houses the Legislature and Secretariat.
#Karnataka CM @siddaramaiah, Deputy CM @DKShivakumar, @INCIndia MP and general secretary @rssurjewala along with several other leaders stage a protest against the central government over the release of more #DroughtReliefFund, at Mahatma Gandhi Statue in Vidhana Soudha,… pic.twitter.com/bx5KwQIK2l
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) April 28, 2024
The state government has declared 226 out of the total 236 Taluks in Karnataka as drought-hit and said there was a crop loss in 48 lakh hectares of land.
According to Siddaramaiah, against the demand for ₹18,171 crore for drought relief, the union government ordered release of only ₹3,454 crore, that too after the state approached the Supreme Court.
The amount was not even a quarter of the state’s demand, he noted.
“After persistent efforts and an appeal to the Supreme Court, we’ve secured ₹3,498.82 crore in drought relief from the Union Government,” the chief minister wrote on Facebook.
“This is perhaps the first time in the history of India that a state was driven to the Supreme Court to get its rights enforced. It’s regrettable that we had to wait since September 2023 for a response. Ministry of Home Affairs finally woke up after the Hon. Supreme Court rang the bell,” he wrote.
“Finally, some justice has been done to our farmers. However, the sanction is woefully inadequate. We had asked for ₹18,000 crore and we have got ₹3498.98 crore!” Siddaramaiah said, adding that the “fight for the arrears will continue”.
The Finance Ministry on Friday, 26 April, sanctioned the release of financial assistance worth ₹3730.32 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to the state governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for the fiscal year 2024-25 to address natural calamities.
Karnataka Government in March this year had approached the Supreme court to direct the Union government to release financial assistance from NDRF due to the state.
The Reserve Bank of India has been instructed to immediately credit the allocated amounts into the respective state governments’ accounts.
Disbursement of the funds will be conducted in accordance with the operational guidelines governing the administration of the NDRF, as per recommendations from the 15th Finance Commission.
The release of funds will follow normal accounting procedure.
Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said that the state government had not yet received the letter from the central government regarding the fund release.
“There is no mention of whether it’s the first instalment or there is also a second instalment. It appears that only this much has been awarded (relief funds) for our request. There is no mention of giving additional funds,” he told the reporters on Saturday.
“₹18171.44 cr was the relief sought as per SDRF rules for Karnataka drought relief. Central Government has only sanctioned ₹3498 cr. That is less than 20% of the relief funds we had asked for. One of the worst droughts, 223 out of 240 Talukas under drought, and Karnataka gets less than 20%,” the revenue minister wrote on social media platform X.
The minister said that the state government would write to the union government again stating the demand for more funds as the sanctioned relief will not be sufficient.
“The central government has the discretion to decide on the grants that they would give to the state. They have given meagre grants. It is injustice to Karnataka,” Krishna Byre Gowda said.
“We will first request them about the injustice through a letter. Based on their reply, we will decide on further course of action. We need to consult our officials and legal team as well,” added the minister.
(Edited by Shauqueen Mizaj)
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