Today(on 12th July),The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing in four weeks on Karnataka’s writ petition demanding the release of Rs. 18,000 crore from the Centre for drought relief under the NDRF.
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NEW DELHI: Today(on 12th July), The Supreme Court scheduled a hearing for a writ petition filed by the State of Karnataka. The petition seeks a directive to the Centre to release over Rs.18,000 crore for drought relief under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
The court has slated this hearing for four weeks from now.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate DL Chidananda, representing Karnataka, appeared before a Bench headed by Justice BR Gavai. They urged the court to list the case on a non-miscellaneous day for detailed arguments. Mr. Sibal emphasized that while some funds have been released, they are insufficient to meet the State’s needs.
“After Karnataka approached the apex court, the Centre allocated only Rs. 3454 crore.”
– he stated.
In a previous hearing, the court advised the Centre to avoid a “contest” with the water-starved State over its drought relief request.
“Let there be no conflict between the Union and the State here.”
-Justice Gavai had addressed Attorney General R. Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, both appearing for the Union government, at the time.
The Supreme Court has noted a recurring issue of States approaching it for the release of funds. Recently, the Tamil Nadu government accused the Centre in the Supreme Court of treating its people in a “step-motherly” fashion by delaying the release of nearly Rs.38,000 crore in disaster relief funds. These funds were crucial for coping with the twin calamities of Cyclone Michaung and unprecedented floods in the southern districts.
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Similarly, Kerala filed a precedent-setting suit directly in the apex court, accusing the Centre of arbitrarily interfering with its net borrowing limits, placing the state on the verge of a financial emergency.
Karnataka argued that its plea for financial relief to address a “severe humanitarian crisis” had been impeded. The state requested Rs. 18,171 crore from the NDRF, citing an estimated total loss of Rs.35,162 crore due to crop damage.
“For the Kharif 2023 season (June to September), 223 out of 236 taluks are declared drought-affected, with 196 taluks classified as severely affected and the remaining 27 as moderately affected.”
-the petition detailed.
The severity of the situation was highlighted by Karnataka experiencing a rainfall deficit of -56% in June, the third lowest in the state’s recorded history over the past 122 years.
