Kharge urges Modi to act on Karnataka drought, seeks Rs 3,705 crore central relief
New Delhi, Oct 3 (UNI) Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally intervene in the "grave" drought situation in Karnataka and sought the immediate release of Rs 3,705.30 crore in Central assistance sought by the state to deal with widespread crop losses and distress among farming families.
In a detailed letter to Modi, Kharge said Karnataka was experiencing "one of its gravest drought situations in recent years", with the state recording a 58 per cent rainfall deficiency as of September. He said the drought had caused extensive crop losses and severe hardship for lakhs of farming families across the state. "I am sharing my detailed letter to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, seeking his personal and urgent intervention in view of the severe drought affecting Karnataka," Kharge said in a post on X on Saturday.
Karnataka, according to Kharge, has assessed its drought-related losses at Rs 18,748.23 crore and sought Rs 3,705.30 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) framework. Kharge listed six measures he wants the Centre to undertake urgently. He called for the immediate deployment of a Central team to Kalyana Karnataka to assess the drought damage on the ground and sought sanction and release of the entire Rs 3,705.30 crore claimed by the state "without arbitrary reduction".
He also pressed for a change in the basis used to determine input subsidy for small and marginal farmers, arguing that Karnataka's updated Bhoomi land records should be used instead of the 2015-16 Agriculture Census. Reliance on the older census, he said, could exclude farmers who are otherwise eligible for assistance. The Congress President further demanded that the drought declaration process for 11 additional taluks currently undergoing ground-truthing be completed without delay. He also sought that any other taluks meeting the prescribed criteria be treated as part of the same continuing drought event for the purpose of Central assistance.
Kharge called for enhanced Central support for drinking water security and the cost of substitute power, citing historically low reservoir levels in the Cauvery and hydel catchments. He also urged the union government to ensure that relief was released "on merit and with utmost urgency", without political considerations, given the scale of the distress. According to Kharge, more than 31 lakh farming families across Karnataka are affected by the drought. "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 compassion" and provide timely assistance for sustenance, fodder, water and livelihood security to millions of affected citizens.
Kharge said he had also written to union Home Minister Amit Shah with the same demands, seeking his intervention in securing relief for Karnataka. The demand comes against the backdrop of recurring disputes between states and the Centre over the assessment and release of financial assistance following droughts and other natural calamities. Karnataka's request now puts the focus on the Centre's response to the state's assessment of losses, the amount of assistance sought and the timeline for extending relief to affected farming and rural households.
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