Siddaramaiah urges PM Modi for immediate meeting of high powered committee on drought relief

New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said he has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convene a high-powered committee meeting under the chairmanship of Home Minister Amit Shah and direct to provide immediate drought relief to the state.
After meeting PM Modi he spoke to the media.

The Chief Minister stressed the need for a high-powered committee meeting under the leadership of Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure drought relief for the state.

“Even after submitting our request to the Center thrice, they have not even held a preliminary meeting. Therefore, the Prime Minister has been requested to direct to hold an urgent meeting to release the drought relief at the earliest.” ,” Siddaramaiah said.

He noted that the Prime Minister heard and responded to the state’s plea peacefully, expressing hope for a positive response and early release of relief.
CM Siddaramaiah said that due to lack of high level committee meeting regarding drought relief, farmers of Karnataka are not getting assistance from the central government.

He highlighted the provision of the law to mandatorily extend MNREGA work by 100 to 150 days in case of drought.

The Chief Minister said, “It has been almost three months since we submitted our request for the increase. Since our request has not materialized, we have again demanded immediate resolution of the issue.”
He also referred to the gazette notification on Mahadayi, which states that all preparations except environment clearance have been completed.

Tenders are called and estimates are made. The work can be started as soon as the approval is received from the Centre. Therefore, the Chief Minister requested for approval as soon as possible.
Siddaramaiah further announced Rs 5,300 crore in the budget for the Upper Bhadra project by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“Based on this, former CM Bommai had also announced the same. Till date not a single rupee has been released. This shows the lack of commitment of the Center and the previous BJP government. We have requested for release of the amount as assurance.” Siddaramaiah said.
The Chief Minister said that Bengaluru and Ramanagara districts will get drinking water from the Mekedatu project.

Siddaramaiah said, “We have brought this issue to the notice of the Prime Minister and urged him to grant necessary permission for Mekedatu. We are ready to approach the Center with an all-party delegation for Mahadayi, Mekedatu and Bhadra upper bank projects.” Said.