‘Awaiting report on pink bollworm attack’

Centre reduced funds under irrigation scheme all of a sudden, says Siddaramaiah

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that the State government is awaiting a comprehensive report on the crop loss suffered by Bt cotton growers due to pink bollworm attack. He was interacting with presspersons at Deodurg in Raichur district on Sunday. “Once we get a detailed report, we will take action. Only after receiving the report, we will decide whether Bt cotton seed companies should be held responsible for the loss and how much should be released as compensation to farmers,” he said.

Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the State government had spent around Rs. 33,000 crore in the last three budgets. “We are spending over Rs. 10,000 crore every year for irrigation projects in north Karnataka. We will continue to allocate the same amount in the remaining budgets well,” he said.

Mr. Siddaramaiah alleged that the Union government had reduced the funds to the State under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) this year. “The Union government allocated only Rs. 1,000 crore for the entire country under the AIBP. This year, the State is receiving a small amount under the scheme. We have written to Union government objecting to the deduction in fund allocation,” he said.

Government spent around Rs. 33,000 crore on irrigation projects in NK: Chief Minister