The Chief Minister urged Modi to expedite the release of Karnataka’s pending central allocation under the Jal Jeevan Mission, stressing that the state has been forced to advance large sums from its own budget to prevent work from stalling.
Published Nov 17, 2025 | 8:25 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 17, 2025 | 8:25 PM
On the pending disaster relief, Siddaramaiah detailed the unprecedented natural calamity caused by extreme and unusually timed rainfall across Karnataka earlier this year.
Synopsis: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release long-pending central funds and approvals for key schemes such as the Jal Jeevan Mission, disaster relief, irrigation projects and the proposed AIIMS Raichur, as well as to revise the MSP for sugarcane procurement. In a series of detailed representations ahead of his meeting with Mr Modi on Monday, he called on the Prime Minister to ensure timely central support.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, 17 November, ahead of his scheduled meeting in New Delhi later that day, seeking urgent central assistance across sectors ranging from drinking water and flood relief to farm distress, irrigation projects and the long-pending proposal for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Raichur.
In a series of detailed letters released by the Chief Minister’s Office, Siddaramiah called for the immediate release of pending Jal Jeevan Mission funds, substantial support from the National Disaster Response Fund following the unprecedented monsoon damage earlier this year, interventions to resolve the ongoing sugarcane price crisis in North Karnataka, faster clearances and allocations for major water resource projects, and approval to establish Karnataka’s first All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
The Chief Minister urged Modi to expedite the release of Karnataka’s pending central allocation under the Jal Jeevan Mission, stressing that the state has been forced to advance large sums from its own budget to prevent work from stalling.
Siddaramaiah said that “more than 86 percent of households have already been provided with tap connections, and all of them are functioning” in the state. He reported rapid progress across sanctioned works and emphasised that the State Level Scheme Sanctioning Committee had cleared projects worth ₹69,487.60 crore.
He pointed out that Karnataka has already spent ₹35,698.58 crore on the mission, of which the state’s contribution is ₹24,598.45 crore, while the Centre has released only ₹11,786.63 crore. Despite fully utilising the central share received so far, he said ₹13,004.63 crore due to Karnataka up to 2025–26 “has still not been released.”
He stressed the financial strain during 2024–25, when Karnataka received only ₹570.66 crore of the ₹3,804.41 crore expected from the Centre.
To keep work on track, the state released ₹7,045.64 crore in advance, providing the required ₹7,602.99 crore on its own. Siddaramaiah noted that in 2025–26 “not even a single rupee has been received from the Centre so far,” although Karnataka has already released ₹1,500 crore in advance.
He added that bills worth ₹1,700 crore are pending, with another ₹2,600 crore yet to be submitted.
Calling the Jal Jeevan Mission “a very important central scheme,” the Chief Minister said its timely completion “is indispensable” for rural households and requested the Prime Minister to “kindly release immediately the central share that is pending for the state.”
On the pending disaster relief, Siddaramaiah detailed the unprecedented natural calamity caused by extreme and unusually timed rainfall across Karnataka earlier this year, and sought urgent financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund for both immediate relief and long-term restoration.
The Chief Minister wrote that Karnataka had witnessed its earliest monsoon onset in decades, beginning on 24 May, “12 days earlier than the normal schedule.”
He pointed out that “for the first time since 1910, in over 100 years, Karnataka has recorded the highest rainfall during the month of May.” Reservoirs filled rapidly, groundwater levels rose, and the KRS and Kabini dams in the Cauvery basin reached full capacity by June, “for the first time in the last 85 years.”
Siddaramaiah said August and September saw the most severe damage, and though total rainfall appeared statistically “normal,” its concentrated nature caused “immense losses.”
He reported damage to more than 14.5 lakh hectares of crops, affecting around 19 lakh farmers, alongside extensive destruction of “13,143 houses, 8,216.79 km of roads, 2,856 schools, 164 Primary Health Centres, 2,017 Anganwadi centres, 43,798 electricity poles, and 198 minor irrigation tanks.”
The state, he said, had already exhausted the entire available State Disaster Response Fund allocation of ₹984.42 crore on crop input subsidies, leaving a shortfall of ₹514.9 crore.
With the next State Disaster Response Fund instalment due only in June 2026 and an additional ₹100 crore required for unforeseen needs, Siddaramaiah requested ₹614.9 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund.
Turning to the recent farmers’ agitation in Karnataka, the Chief Minister outlined the state’s emergency intervention to stabilise sugarcane prices while requesting key policy changes from the Union government to provide “a permanent solution.”
He recalled his earlier letters dated 6 and 8 November seeking an appointment to discuss the escalating protests, and thanked the Prime Minister for granting him a meeting on 17 November to address the issue directly.
Siddaramaiah wrote that when the agitation intensified and “the possibility of deterioration in law and order arose,” the state government acted swiftly to address “the price-gap issue, which was the root cause of the agitation.”
He wrote that on 7 November, he personally held “continuous and lengthy meetings with farmer leaders and sugar factory owners,” after which the government issued an order, G.O. No: CI SGF 2025, to extend urgent financial support to sugarcane growers.
Under this notification, factories were mandated to pay an additional ₹100 per tonne as a second instalment beyond the initial agreed price. To facilitate this, the state offered to bear ₹50 per tonne from its treasury, while factories were instructed to contribute the remaining ₹50.
According to Siddaramaiah, this measure ensured a net price of ₹3,200 per tonne at a 10.25 percent recovery rate and ₹3,300 per tonne at an 11.25 percent recovery rate, excluding harvesting and transport costs. He said the decision, backed by the state’s subsidy, had “temporarily resolved the crisis” and halted the protests.
However, he stressed that this relief “has not completely eliminated the price gap,” attributing the problem to the Minimum Support Price of sugar remaining fixed at ₹31 per kg, which “prevents sugar factories from being able to pay farmers the required price.”
The Chief Minister then outlined three core demands as essential for “a permanent and effective solution”:
Siddaramaiah emphasised that the state had acted “in good faith,” using its own resources to provide urgent relief, but added that the core issues fell under the central government’s jurisdiction.
The Chief Minister also outlined a series of long-pending water resource issues between Karnataka and the Union government, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expedite clearances, notifications and fund releases essential for major irrigation and drinking water projects across the state.
Siddaramaiah highlighted the state’s heavy reliance on dryland agriculture, the second-largest extent of dryland in India after Rajasthan, and said ongoing irrigation projects were helping convert dryland into fertile and productive fields.
The state, he wrote, had succeeded in providing adequate water to boost agricultural output and farmer incomes, and he listed five key pending issues:
Siddaramaiah noted that on 13 November 2025, the Supreme Court had dismissed multiple petitions filed by Tamil Nadu and directed expert bodies, the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Central Water Commission to take the final call on approving Karnataka’s Mekedatu balancing reservoir project.
He said the Cauvery Water Management Authority had already petitioned the Central Water Commission and requested that the Centre “promptly issue directions to the CWC to grant approval.”
The Chief Minister expressed concern that more than a decade after the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II verdict on Krishna river water-sharing, the Union government had still not issued the Gazette notification. He noted that Karnataka had spent substantial funds on related projects but had been unable to realise benefits due to this delay. He urged that “this matter also be resolved at the earliest.”
Siddaramaiah reminded the Prime Minister that the Union government had announced a ₹5,300 crore grant for the Upper Krishna Project in the 2023–24 budget. Despite Karnataka submitting a request to the Union Finance Ministry, “no allocation has been made so far.” He said central intervention would help release the funds for a project “that will greatly benefit the drought-prone regions of Karnataka.”
The Chief Minister pointed out that the project, meant to supply drinking water to Hubballi–Dharwad, received Central Water Commission and Ministry of Jal Shakti approval in December 2022.
However, Forest and Wildlife clearances from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change remained pending “despite there being no legal hurdles.” He said the project could not proceed without these clearances and requested the Prime Minister to “intervene immediately and resolve this issue.”
Under the National Water Development Agency’s river-linking plans, Siddaramaiah asked that Karnataka’s plea for “equitable and just allocation of water” be considered in line with principles of fairness and equality.
The Chief Minister further urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expedite approval for establishing an All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Karnataka, a proposal he described as pending “for a very long time,” and requested the Prime Minister’s “urgent intervention.”
Siddaramaiah informed the Prime Minister that after evaluating multiple potential locations, the government had identified Raichur in the Kalyana Karnataka region as the most suitable site.
He noted that the region continues to lag behind in healthcare, education and per capita income, and has a higher concentration of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other backward communities. In this context, he said, “the need for a high-quality referral medical centre is extremely critical.”
Siddaramaiah noted that the state had already submitted a Detailed Project Report to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare seeking approval for All India Institute of Medical Sciences Raichur.
He added that the government had been “actively investing” in improving healthcare infrastructure across Kalyana Karnataka. Raichur now hosts a new government medical college and a multispecialty hospital, and, according to the Chief Minister, has the land, connectivity and administrative capacity needed to support an institute of national importance.
He argued that establishing an All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Raichur would benefit not only Raichur district but also neighbouring Yadgir, Ballari, Koppal, Kalaburagi and Bidar. Beyond improving access to tertiary care, he said the institute would “accelerate socio-economic development, generate employment, and help decentralise quality healthcare and medical education.”
