New Delhi/Bengaluru, Oct 3 (IANS) : AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately depute a separate Central team to Kalyana Karnataka to assess the drought damage on the ground, while seeking the release of Rs 3,705.30 crore in assistance to the state under NDRF/SDRF norms. It can be noted that Kharge hails from Kalyana Karnataka region.
In a detailed letter to PM Modi, Kharge said three Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) were scheduled to visit different parts of Karnataka from October 3 to 7 to assess the drought situation. However, he said Kalyana Karnataka had been “very drastically hit” by drought and required a separate assessment.
“I request that another team may be deputed specifically to visit Kalyana-Karnataka without further delay to verify the drought damage on the ground,” Kharge said in the letter.
He said the three teams were scheduled to cover Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Davanagere and Vijayanagara under Team 1; Hassan, Mysuru and Chamarajanagar under Team 2; and Yadgir, Raichur, Bagalkot and Koppal under Team 3.
Kharge also urged the Prime Minister to sanction and release the full Rs 3,705.30 crore sought by Karnataka under NDRF/SDRF norms without any reduction. He pointed out that the amount sought was significantly lower than the state’s estimated losses of Rs 18,748.23 crore.
Kharge further urged the Centre to direct that input subsidy for small and marginal farmers be calculated using Karnataka’s updated Bhoomi land records instead of the 2015-16 Agriculture Census.
He said relying on outdated Census data could result in genuinely eligible farmers being excluded from relief.
The Congress President also sought the inclusion of 11 additional taluks currently undergoing Ground Truthing, along with any other taluks that qualify during the remaining weekly assessments before the end of the Kharif 2026 season, as part of a single continuing drought event for the purpose of Central assistance.
He argued that this would avoid repeated and delayed claims by the state government.
Kharge also sought enhanced Central assistance for drinking water security and the cost of substitute power, citing low reservoir levels in the Cauvery and hydel catchment areas.
He said the drought had created severe distress among more than 31 lakh farming families across Karnataka and urged the Centre to ensure that assistance was released on merit and with urgency, without political considerations.
“The agrarian community of Karnataka faces a crisis of existential proportions. Drought relief is a humanitarian imperative and ought not to be governed by political differences between the Centre and State,” Kharge said.
He urged the Prime Minister to accord the state’s memorandum the highest priority and personally intervene to ensure that the assistance was sanctioned and released without further delay.
“An expeditious response would provide timely sustenance, fodder, water and livelihood security to millions of our affected citizens,” he said.
Kharge also said he had written separately to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking similar intervention on the drought situation in Karnataka.
