Drought: Karnataka moves SC against Centre seeking immediate release of NDRF funds

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Move after months of waiting, multiple memorandums

The move comes after months of waiting and multiple memorandums submitted to the Union government.

“We have sent more than 3 memorandums to Union government,” said the senior Congress leader, adding that they have no other way but to “approach the Supreme Court to direct them to release funds as per the Disaster Management Act”, he said during the press briefing.

In a Writ Petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, the state seeks the immediate release of NDRF funds, a statutory provision under the Disaster Management Act.

Siddaramaiah emphasised the legal obligation of the Union government to provide assistance, citing constitutional provisions.

He said that an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) visited the state to examine the situation, adding that according to the law, the Union government should have provided the relief funds within a month. However, no funds have been released so far.

The petition says that the Union government has failed to provide financial aid for drought management, which violates the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.

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State under acute water crisis

Karnataka is currently grappling with an acute water scarcity with many districts declared “drought-hit”, due to plummeting groundwater levels and a drought-like scenario in the Cauvery basin.

A total of 223 out of 236 taluks are declared as drought-affected with 196 taluks categorised as severely affected and the remaining 27 categorised as moderately affected, according to the petition.

The state government has sought ₹18,171.44 crore under the NDRF — ₹4663.12 crore towards crop loss input subsidy, ₹12577.9 crore towards gratuitous relief to families whose livelihood has been seriously affected due to drought, ₹566.78 crore for addressing shortage of drinking water relief and ₹363.68 crore towards cattle care, the petition further said.

The present drought situation has damaged crops, affected livestock, leading to lower yields, reduced income for farmers, increased food prices and increased shortage of water in urban and rural areas as well due to reduced ground water level and shortage or no water storage in lakes as well as reservoirs, it stated.

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State government assistance 

Due to the delay in the NDRF assistance, Siddaramaiah said that the state government disbursed relief to farmers up to ₹2000 each directly to their bank accounts.

The chief minister, during the address, said that although the revenue minister and RDPR Minister from the state visited Delhi to meet concerned officials and update them on the shortage, they were unable to secure a meeting. They managed to meet with the finance minister and provided a briefing on the drought situation.

Despite Union Home Minister Amit Shah convening a meeting to address the state’s water shortage, Siddaramaiah said that no funds has been released so far.

He said that he had reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to the state, about the delay in releasing funds. However, no solution has been found.

Siddaramaiah had in November 2023, reached out to the Union ministers for assistance. He had also organised meetings with central authorities to emphasise the gravity of Karnataka’s drought situation.

(Edited by Shauqueen Mizaj)