Karnataka: Centre releases Rs 3454 cr for drought relief

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the Centre has released only Rs 3,454 crore of the approved Rs 3,499 crore as drought relief. 

The Karnataka CM urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clear the balance amount as soon as possible, on April 27. He also thanked the Supreme Court for warning the Central government and providing the drought relief to the state.

“According to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) rules, the state was supposed to be paid Rs 18,171 crore, but the Central government has only approved Rs 3,498.98 crore. This money is not sufficient for the drought relief. Our fight for the arrears will continue,” he told reporters.

The chief minister also alleged that the union government released the money after the state government intervened and approached the Supreme Court, and not out of concern for Karnataka. 

"The Supreme Court, which heard this petition, was convinced that the Centre was doing injustice to Karnataka due to political reasons,” he further said. 

On receiving the aid however, Siddaramaiah took to Twitter and wrote, “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 Sept 2023 for a response. HMO India 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!”

The state has been reeling under severe water scarcity for a long time now.