Published Sep 24, 2026 | 8:59 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 24, 2026 | 8:59 PM
Congress MLC Tippannappa Kamaknoor
Synopsis: MLC Tippannappa Kamaknoor urged the government led by his party, the Indian National Congress, to suspend the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme for a year and divert its funds to ameliorate drought conditions in the State.
Congress MLC Tippannappa Kamaknoor has suggested pausing the Gruha Lakshmi scheme for a year and diverting the funds towards major irrigation projects amid drought conditions.
Speaking in the Legislative Council, Kamaknoor said projects such as Mekedatu, Upper Krishna Project Phase III, Kalasa-Banduri, Upper Bhadra, Navali balancing reservoir, and Yettinahole should be prioritised.
“You are giving ₹2,000 each under the scheme, aren’t you? Stop it across the board and use that money for these irrigation projects. Stop the Gruha Lakshmi scheme. Stop it, I’m saying,” Kamaknoor said.
He also alleged that Gruha Lakshmi payments were being made in the names of deceased people and suggested redirecting such funds towards irrigation works.
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The Karnataka government has maintained that there is no proposal to discontinue its guarantee schemes. Gruha Lakshmi is one of the guarantees the Congress made ahead of the Assembly elections.
The Gruha Lakshmi is the most ambitious among the guaranteed schemes. It aims to increase women’s economic empowerment. The scheme provides ₹2,000 per month to the female head of the family.
Incidentally, Kamakanoor made the demand a day after Chief Minister DK Shivakumar urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release 50 percent of the State’s ₹3,705.30-crore drought relief memorandum as interim financial assistance, citing the worsening drought situation across the State.
Shivakumar on Wednesday said Karnataka had declared 76 more taluks drought-affected, taking the total number to 177. He said more than 200 taluks could ultimately be declared drought-affected by the end of the South-West Monsoon 2026 season.
The State had submitted its Kharif 2026 Drought Memorandum seeking ₹3,705.30 crore for immediate relief measures for 101 drought-declared taluks on 10 September.
Meanwhile, a report by Climate Impact Lab predicted 1,870 human deaths in Karnataka between September 2026 and February 2027 due to the ongoing Super El Niño event.
Super El Niño event—or very strong El Niño event—is a climatic phenomenon in which average sea surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific Ocean rise by 2° Celsius or more. They could cause floods, droughts, extreme heat, and crop losses worldwide.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
