Kumaraswamy writes to Rajnath Singh; seeks SDRF revision

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today sought revision of State Disaster Response Fund allocation fromthe union government for undertaking relief measures in thestate.

Kumaraswamy, in a letter written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, sought increase in Karnataka’s SDRF allocation, which, he said, was less compared to that granted to states likeMaharashtra and Gujarat.

“As far as the SDRF allocation is concerned, Karnataka has been allocated only Rs 1,527 crore for the five year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20,” the Chief Minister said.

“Other states such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have been allocated Rs 8,195 crore, Rs 6,094crore and Rs 4,847 crore and Rs 3,394 crore respectively.

Hence, the state Government had requested for enhancement of SDRF allocation to Rs 3,050.72 crore,” he added.

Kumaraswamy also said the Union Government should make appropriate recommendation to the 15th Finance Commission to base SDRF allocation on hazard vulnerability risk profiles of states.

SDRF is available to states for disaster response and has been set up under Section 48 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Kumaraswamy said increase in SDRF was necessary as Karnataka has faced 13 droughts ofvarying intensity in the last 17 years.

“The state is also prone to natural disasters like drought, flood, hailstorm, excessive rainfall and lightening, he added.

He also said the government had asked for an additional allocation of Rs 12,272.21 crore as central assistance for various drought proofing measures in a memorandum submitted to the Centre on May 7, 2016.