The Karnataka government on Saturday moved the Supreme Court alleging that the Centre had not extended financial assistance to the state for drought management, reported Bar and Bench.
The state government’s plea contended that 223 out of 236 taluks, or subdivisions of a district, have been hit by drought. Of this, 196 taluks have been categorised as severely hit and the remaining 27 are moderately hit.
“During the South West Monsoon season 2023, the state recorded only 33 rainy days out of 122 days [rainy day defined as ≥ 2.5 mm/day], which is the second lowest in the last 33 years,” the plea said.
The total estimated loss due to crop damage in the state is Rs 35,162.05 crore.
The Congress government in Karnataka had sought Rs 18,171.44 crore from the Centre’s National Disaster Response Force. While Rs 4,663.12 crore was sought for crop loss input subsidy, the government asked for Rs 12,577.9 crore towards gratuitous relief to families whose livelihood has been seriously affected due to drought.
The state also sought Rs 566.78 crore for drinking water and Rs 363.68 crore for cattle care.
The Karnataka government told the court that it had exhausted all its funds allocated under the State Disaster Response Force for 2023-’24, which was Rs 929.50 crore. It said…
Read more