Karnataka CM meets Shah; seeks early release of drought relief

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and requested him to sanction early drought relief of Rs 18,177.44 crore to the state. Siddaramaiah, who met Shah in his office in Parliament complex, said a central meeting of the high-level committee should be convened at the earliest to approve the drought relief for Karnataka, an official statement said.

The CM informed in the meeting that the small and marginal farmers are more impacted because of the drought in 223 taluks out of 236 in the state. The crops sown in 48.19 lakh hectare of farm land have been impacted.

Siddaramaiah also said that the state government had submitted a memorandum seeking Rs 18,177.44 crore drought three month back and requested the Centre to expedite the matter.

While sanctioning the drought relief, the CM requested the Centre to consider the latest farmers’ population data instead of the 2015-16 data, the statement added. The state government had submitted its memorandum on September 22. Consequently, a central team visited the state in October and submitted a report. Siddarmaiah had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday on the same issue.