Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide urgent central assistance to Karnataka amid a severe drought situation in the state.
In a letter to Modi on Saturday, Kharge said Karnataka was facing one of its gravest drought situations in recent years, citing rainfall deficiency, widespread crop losses and distress among lakhs of farming families.
According to Kharge, the state has sought Rs 3,705.30 crore in assistance under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) framework, against estimated losses of Rs 18,748.23 crore.
Kharge made six specific requests, including the immediate deputation of a Central team to Kalyana Karnataka to assess the drought situation on the ground and the release of the full amount sought by the state.
He also urged the Centre to calculate input subsidies for small and marginal farmers using Karnataka's updated Bhoomi land records instead of the 2015-16 Agriculture Census. He said this would help ensure that eligible farmers are not excluded from relief.
The Congress leader further sought the urgent completion of drought declarations for 11 additional taluks currently undergoing ground-truthing, along with any other areas that qualify. He said these should be treated as part of a single continuing drought event for the purpose of central assistance.
Kharge also sought enhanced support for drinking water security and the cost of substitute power, citing low reservoir levels in the Cauvery and hydel catchment areas.
“Drought relief is a humanitarian imperative and must rise above political differences between the Centre and the State,” Kharge said, calling for timely assistance for sustenance, fodder, water and livelihood security.
He said the assistance should be released “on merit and with utmost urgency, uninfluenced by political considerations”, given the distress faced by more than 31 lakh farming families across Karnataka.
Kharge added that he had also written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking similar intervention.
Karnataka has been seeking central assistance amid a worsening drought situation. Recent reports said the state had declared 177 taluks drought-affected, while ground-truthing was underway in additional areas. The state had initially sought Rs 3,705.30 crore for 101 drought-affected taluks.
(With inputs from ANI)