Karnataka appeared dissatisfied with the Central allotment of a little over ₹3,400 crore towards drought relief on May 6 in the Supreme Court.
Appearing before a Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, for the State, peremptorily said it is “contesting the data” provided by the Union government. Mr. Sibal, however, agreed to have the case listed after the summer vacations of the court in July.
Also read | Farmers body alleges injustice in distribution of drought relief
The Centre’s allotment of ₹3,454 crore came after Karnataka had moved the apex court seeking a direction to the Union to release the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
The State said the Centre had opted to remain mum while the drought situation was slipping into a “grave humanitarian crisis”. The State had asked for the release of ₹18,171.44 crore under the NDRF six months ago, only to be met with silence. The total estimated loss due to crop damage in the State is ₹35,162.05 crore, the petition had said.
The State government had submitted three drought relief memoranda under various heads, including ₹4,663.12 crore towards crop loss input subsidy, ₹12,577.9 crore for gratuitous relief to families whose livelihood has been seriously affected due to drought, ₹566.78 crore for addressing shortage of drinking water relief and ₹363.68 crore towards cattle care.
The court had previously advised the Union to resolve the issue amicably, reminding it that the Centre and States were equal partners in a federal system of governance.
The State, represented by advocate D.L. Chidananda, had said it was reeling under severe drought, affecting the lives of its people.
“For the Kharif 2023 season [the season starts in June and ends in September], a total of 223 out of 236 taluks are declared as drought-affected, with 196 taluks categorised as severely affected and the remaining 27 categorised as moderately affected. Karnataka as a whole recorded -56% deficit rainfall in June, which was the third lowest in the last 122 years for the State,” the State’s petition had submitted.
