New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Karnataka government and the Centre should resolve the issue in connection with the release of financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to the state for drought management.
The matter came up before a bench comprising justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan. Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, requested the bench that he needed some time to file an affidavit in the matter.
"You should resolve it," the bench said. During the hearing, the bench queried, how much amount has been released so far? The Karnataka government counsel said the state requested for Rs 18,171 crore and has been granted Rs 3,819 crore. The bench has scheduled the matter for further hearing in January 2025.
The bench was hearing a plea filed by the Karnataka government seeking a direction to the Centre to release financial assistance from the NDRF to the state for drought management.
On April 29, the Centre told the apex court that around Rs 3,400 crore has been released to the Karnataka government for drought management in the state.
Karnataka’s plea submitted that the action of the Centre in denying the financial assistance to the State is ex- facie violative of the fundamental rights of the people of Karnataka guaranteed under Articles 14, 21 of the Constitution.
"Further, the impugned action of the Central Government is violative of the statutory scheme of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the Manual for Drought Management and the Guidelines on Constitution and Administration of the State Disaster Response Fund and National Disaster Response Fund," contended the plea.
The plea contended that Karnataka is reeling under severe drought, affecting the lives of its people. "For the Kharif 2023 season (the season starts in June and ends in September), a total of 223 out of 236 taluks are declared as drought-affected, with 196 taluks categorised as severely affected and the remaining 27 categorised as moderately affected," said the plea.
