FIGHT FOR A FAIR SHARE

The differences between Karnataka and the Centre over disbursal of Union funds have escalated in the runup to the general election, with the state’s Siddaramaiah-led Congress government filing a writ petition in Supreme Court on March 23 seeking the release of central aid for drought relief.

- Ajay Sukumaran

In the petition, Karnataka said that rainfall deficit during the 2023 monsoon resulted in 223 of the state’s 236 sub-districts being drought-hit during last year’s kharif cultivation season. An inter-ministerial central team had also visited the state for a field-level assessment, and the Siddaramaiah government added that assistance was pending even after five months of completion of the process.

The filing of the writ petition has contributed to a verbal duel between the Karnataka government and the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre. Karnataka’s clash with the Modi government over funds allocation and the state’s share in central taxes has been going on for a year. 

While the Centre is yet to comment on the writ petition or the issue of drought assistance, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at a public forum in Bengaluru on March 24, a day after the writ petition was filed, “The funds from the central government to the state government as per the recommendation of the finance commission...I want to make it a point to tell you in detail that every paisa that is due to Karnataka is given, and given on time.”