BENGALURU: With the three-day special session of the Karnataka Legislature beginning on Monday, the state’s demand for greater assistance from the Centre to tackle the drought situation is likely to be a key issue, with the government planning to seek the Opposition’s cooperation on the matter.
Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday said the entire state was facing a drought-like situation and there was a need for a comprehensive discussion on relief measures and the assistance to be sought from the Union government.
Speaking to reporters Parameshwara said the special session had been convened to discuss the drought situation and evolve measures to help farmers overcome their difficulties. The Kasturirangan report will also come up for discussion during the session, he said.
“There must be a comprehensive discussion in the Legislature on the measures required for drought relief and on the kind of assistance that should be sought from the Union government. We need to discuss these issues collectively,” he said.
The Deputy CM appealed to the Opposition to participate in the discussion on issues concerning people rather than viewing every issue through a political lens. He said the government had no objection to protests in a democracy, but there was a time and context for everything.
The session comes at a time when the state is seeking Central support to address the impact of deficient rainfall and provide relief to affected farmers. The government is expected to highlight the extent of the drought and the financial requirements before the Centre during the discussions.
Parameshwara also said the government had initiated recruitment to fill around 72,000 vacancies across departments, while more than 900 Surveyor posts were being filled in the Revenue Department.