Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah thanks Supreme Court for ordering release of drought relief assistance

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah thanks Supreme Court for ordering release of drought relief assistance

BENGALURU: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah thanked the Supreme Court on Friday for ordering the release of over Rs 34 lakh drought relief assistance from the Union government for the 2023 Karnataka drought.

He added that it was perhaps the first time in the history of India that a state was driven to the Supreme Court to get its rights enforced.

“After persistent efforts and an appeal to the Supreme Court, we’ve secured Rs 3,498.82 crore in drought relief from the Union government. I wish to thank the Hon. Supreme Court. 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,” Siddaramaiah said in a post on X.

The Karnataka chief minister, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the monetary assistance, stating that the Karnataka government had requested Rs. 18,000 crore but received only Rs. 3,498.98 crore.

“The office of the Home Minister finally woke up after the Hon. Supreme Court rang the bell. Finally, some justice has been done to our farmers. However, the sanction is woefully inadequate. We had asked for Rs 18,000 crores and we have got 3498.98 crores!” Siddaramaiah added in the post.

The Ministry of Finance on Friday approved the release of Rs 345422 crore towards relief assistance for the 2023 Karnataka drought.

Earlier, the Karnataka government, in the plea filed through advocate DL Chidananda, urged the Supreme court to direct the Centre to forthwith take a final decision and release the financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to the state.

The plea said that Karnataka is reeling under a severe drought, affecting the lives of its citizens.

“For the Kharif 2023 season as a whole, after fulfilling all the indicators of the Manual for Drought Management 2020, a total of 223 out of 236 taluks are declared drought-affected during Kharif 2023, with 196 taluks categorised as severely affected and the remaining 27 categorized as moderately affected. The Southwest Monsoon (SWM) set in over the coast of Karnataka on June 10, 2023, as against the normal onset of June 5. The SWM gradually advanced thereafter and covered the entire state on June 24, as against the normal coverage date of June 15. The delayed onset coupled with sluggish progress of SWM during June resulted in Malnad districts and North Interior Karnataka districts with large agriculture land recording large deficit rainfall,” said the plea.

After strictly adhering to the procedure outlined in the Manual for Drought Management-2020, Karnataka notified 223 out of 236 taluks as drought-affected. Cumulatively for the Kharif 2023 season, the agriculture and horticulture crop loss have been reported in more than 48 lakh hectares with the estimated loss (cost of cultivation) of Rs 35,162 crore, the plea further said.

The State Government has sought Rs 18,171.44 crore under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), through three Drought Relief Memorandum submitted in September-November 2023 ie, Rs.4663.12 crore towards crop loss input subsidy, Rs. 12577.9 crore towards gratuitous relief to families whose livelihood has been seriously affected due to drought, Rs.566.78 crore for addressing shortage of drinking water relief then and Rs.363.68 crore towards cattle care. Crops have failed, reduced water availability has affected domestic, agricultural, and industrial-hydel energy water supply, the plea added.

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