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 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.
The State has also challenged State Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s decision to refer the bills passed by the State legislature to the President after keeping them pending with himself for past many months.
Courtesy: Bar and Bench
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