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Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, to seek urgent central assistance to Karnataka farmers amid the drought situation in the state.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Kharge said Karnataka was facing one of its gravest drought situations in recent years, with a significant rainfall deficiency, widespread crop losses and distress among lakhs of farming families. He said the state had 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 listed six specific requests, including the immediate deputation of a Central team to Kalyana Karnataka to assess the drought damage on the ground and the release of the full Rs 3,705.30 crore sought by the state. He also urged the Centre to calculate input subsidy for small and marginal farmers using Karnataka's updated Bhoomi land records instead of the 2015-16 Agriculture Census, arguing that the move would ensure that eligible farmers are not excluded from relief. The Congress president further sought the urgent completion of drought declarations for 11 additional taluks currently undergoing ground-truthing, along with any other qualifying taluks, and urged that they be treated as part of a single continuing drought event for the purpose of central assistance. Kharge also called for 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, urging the Union government to act with urgency and extend timely assistance for sustenance, fodder, water and livelihood security. Kharge said the assistance should be released "on merit and with utmost urgency, uninfluenced by political considerations", keeping in mind the distress confronting more than 31 lakh farming families across Karnataka. He added that he had also written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking the same 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. (ANI)
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