The Karnataka government on Saturday moved the Supreme Court against the Centre after getting refused for getting drought relief funds for the state. Siddaramaiah government has asked the top court to order the Central government to provide the southern state with the National Drought Relief Fund (NDRF).While speaking at a press conference in Bengaluru, the chief minister of Karnataka asserted that they have waited for a long time and now have filed a petition in the top court, saying that according to the law, the central government has to release the funds as it has been predicted previously to the state governments needs.Karnataka CM and Congress leader Siddaramaiah says, The Karnataka government had waited for a long time and now inevitably we (the state government) are going to file a petition in the Supreme Court against the central government demanding a direction to the Center to… https://t.co/c0ZlcR9LFT pic.twitter.com/a9xk0dFw7g— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2024He added that the drought has destroyed 48 lakh hectares of crops in Karnataka and that three memoranda had been written to the central government asking for help with the drought. Siddaramaiah questioned the Centers delay and inaction in this situation.The Central government delegation visited the state after we delivered the memorandum. The team has provided the Centre with a report regarding the status of affairs. According to the law, they had one month from the time they received this information to decide whether to release the compensation. The report was presented on October 20 last year. Then, to meet with the central leaders, our minister of revenue traveled to Delhi with two other ministers. They showed zero concern,” he added.The chief minister also claimed that the Centre has not funded even a single rupee to tackle the drought situation in the state, and when a city like Bengaluru is grappling with a shortage of 500 million liters per day.It is worth noting that there is now a 500 MLD water shortage in Bengaluru as a result of the citys 2,600 MLD water requirement for both drinking water and commercial use. Of this amount, 1,450 MLD is pumped from the Cauvery River and roughly 650 MLD is accessible from borewells, according to the sources.
