Karnataka moves Supreme Court alleging Central government not releasing drought relief funds

The Karnataka government on Saturday moved the Supreme Court alleging that the Central government was not extending financial assistance to the State to tide over the drought situation in the State [State of Karnataka vs Union of India and ors]..The State government in its plea said that it is constrained to avail legal remedies as the Central government's arbitrary actions violate the fundamental rights of the people of Karnataka."The petitioner – State of Karnataka, in fulfillment of its parens patriae obligation to its people, is representing its people in enforcing the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21, to bring to the notice of this Hon’ble Court a matter of grave humanitarian distress caused by drought," the petition stated. The petition also explained the extent of the situation."223 out of 236 taluks are declared as drought-affected, with 196 taluks categorized as severely affected and the remaining 27 categorized as moderately affected ... During the South West Monsoon season 2023, the State recorded only 33 rainy days out of 122 days ( rainy day defined as ≥ 2.5 mm/day), which is the 2nd lowest in the last 33 years," the plea said. .The Karnataka government had already written to the Prime Minister in this regard in January and its Cabinet Ministers had apprised senior Central government officials multiple times of the situation, it was pointed out.Moreover, the Union government has not yet acted upon a Inter-Ministerial Central Team report on the disaster for nearly six months now. The same has been aggravated due to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) benefits not being extended to the State, it was highlighted."The State Government has sought Rs.18,171.44 crore from NDRF ... ie, Rs.4663.12 crore towards crop loss input subsidy, Rs. 12577.9 crore towards gratuitous relief to families whose livelihood has been seriously affected due to drought, Rs.566.78 crore for drinking water purpose and Rs.363.68 crore towards cattle care. ... The allocation for Karnataka under SDRF for the fiscal year 2023- 24 is Rs. 929.50 crore. The entire SDRF allocation has been utilized. The State Government has also had to draw funds from the State exchequer due to delays in receiving funds from the NDRF," the plea contended. .The plea also said that the present drought situation has extensively damaged crops and affected livestock, leading to lower yields and earnings for farmers and resulting in inflation"The situation has major economic impact resulting from losses in agriculture, impacting jobs, incomes, and overall economic growth of the State," it was submitted. The State government has, thus, urgently prayed that the Union Home Ministry be directed to immediately take a final decision and release financial assistance from NDRF. .Karnataka's plea was filed through advocate DL Chidananda and settled through Senior Counsel Devadatt Kamat and Advocate General (AG) K Shashi Kiran Shetty.The AG told Bar & Bench that the petition is being pressed for hearing before a vacation bench given the urgency. The Supreme Court is currently closed for Holi and will reopen only on April 1.