The central government has approved around Rs 1,500 crore for Karnataka’s State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) – which is only a fraction of what several other states, particularly those that are ruled by the BJP, are getting. And Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has now written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh to revise this number.
Following his appeal to the central government for 50% support to waive loans of farmers, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Monday appealed for more funds for drought relief in the state.
"As far as the SDRF allocation is concerned, Karnataka has been allocated only Rs 1,527 crore for a five year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20, whereas other states such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have been allocated Rs 8,195 crore, Rs 6,094 crore, Rs 4,847 crore and Rs 3,394 crore respectively,” Kumaraswamy wrote.
“Hence, the State Government had requested for enhancement of SDRF allocation to Rs 3,050.72 crore," the letter said.
The SDRF is available to states for disaster response, and is constituted under Section 48 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The funds are used to meet expenditures for providing relief to victims of disasters.
Karnataka is the only state among the five states mentioned to not have a BJP government in place.
Kumaraswamy handed over the letter appealing for higher allocation of funds to Home Minister Rajnath Singh at his residence in New Delhi on Monday.
In the letter, Kumaraswamy also pointed out that the Karnataka government had submitted a memorandum in May 2016 requesting an additional allocation of Rs 12,272.21 crore as central assistance for various drought proofing measures.
The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) had declared 13 of the past 15 years as 'drought years' in the state. It also pointed out that after the desert state of Rajasthan, Karnataka had the most extent of land affected by drought.
Earlier this year, water shortage hit almost all parts of Karnataka and 160 out of the state’s 176 taluks were officially declared drought-hit according to a report by the Deccan Herald.
The appeal for higher allocation of SDRF comes a day after Kumaraswamy raised the issue of agrarian distress in the state while speaking at the at the 4th meeting of the NITI Aayog governing council in New Delhi. He appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for 50% support to waive loans of farmers in the state.