Kharge Urges Modi to Release ₹3,705 Crore Drought Aid for Karnataka

Synopsis

In the letter, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding release of ₹3,705.30 crore which Karnataka has requested from the National Disaster Response Fund, saying that the state has faced rainfall deficiency of 58 per cent and 31 lakh farming families are facing distress. The State has declared 217 of its 240 taluks drought prone and the estimated losses stand at ₹18,748.23 crore. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has separately applied for half the amount as interim assistance. There was no Union counter attack reported.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, has requested urgent central assistance to the drought-affected Karnataka. His letter is dated 1 October, and runs 11 pages. It was shared on Saturday and he had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the same.

The number requested and its arithmetic

On 10 September, the Government of Karnataka had submitted its Kharif 2026 Drought Memorandum to the Government of India for that. As of September, the State is facing a 58 per cent rainfall shortfall, while it has made claims in the NDRF and SDRF framework for an estimated loss of ₹18,748.23 crore, Mr Kharge wrote. He requested for its prompt and total release, amid deteriorating drought situation in karnataka.

The six asks

Mr Kharge said the input subsidy should be computed on the Bhoomi land records of Karnataka, which were updated, and not the Agriculture Census of 2015-16 as no eligible farmer would be denied the subsidy under the updated Bhoomi records.

He also requested that 11 more taluks, where ground truthing was performed, be considered as continuous drought. He called for more assistance for drinking water security and cost of alternative power generation due to low levels in reservoirs in Cauvery and hydel catchments.

A widening drought

On 23 September, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar informed the Prime Minister that the drought affected taluks were increased to 177 from 101 earlier. The situation has "further aggravated across the State", he wrote.

He requested ₹1,852.65 crore (50 percent) as interim assistance while awaiting evaluation and approval by the Centre. As of 21st October, 217 taluks in the state of Karnataka were identified as drought prone. The State has assured that it will submit another memorandum after losses are estimated, once the areas are declared as such, amid worsening drought condition in which CM dk shivakumar urged the Centre to release interim relief of ₹7,142.64 crore.

Precedent from last year

Central funds have been questioned in the past as to the timing. In 2023-24, the state of Karnataka had sought ₹18,171 crore, had gone to the Supreme Court in March and the Centre had then granted ₹3,454 crore.

Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara appealed to the Centre to not be as late as last year, stating that the State was getting about ₹3,500 crore only after the Supreme Court's intervention. The coverage reviewed did not have any reply to Mr Kharge's letter from the Prime Minister's Office.

Outlook

The next steps are procedural. The Centre's claim is to be evaluated and the Karnataka government will have to evaluate the newly declared taluks. Whether partial funds will shift before this process is complete remains a question as a result of Mr. Shivakumar's interim demand. The real issue for the farming families of 31 lakh people, cited by Mr Kharge, is when they get the input subsidy and drinking water support.