‘Confused FM delaying drought funds’: Siddaramaiah flays Sitharaman on NDRF disbursal
Asserting that the drought-affected state still needs ₹18,171 crore from NDRF to tide over the crisis, Karnataka CM says the Union finance minister is delaying it as she doesn’t know the difference between NRDF and SDRF
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has lashed out at the Centre, accusing it of having failed to disburse flood relief funds under the National Disaster Relief Funds (NDRF) in the wake of severe drought and instead confusing Karnataka residents with “half-truths”. Accusing Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of lying to the public, he also dared her to participate in an open debate with her arguments on the issue.
“The central government seems to have no regard for Karnataka. Having failed to take timely action to conduct the HLC (high-level committee) meeting and decide on our NDRF claims, they are deploying central ministers to come to Bengaluru and give statements based either on half-truths or blatant lies and they think people can be confused,” he said.
Ministers’ response on NDRF funds
Siddaramaiah was referring to Sitharaman’s recent statement in which she said there was no provision in the NDRF Act for the Centre to extend any special assistance or interim relief to states during disasters. Stating that the SDRF is the right fund bank for states in such cases, Sitharaman while addressing the press in Bengaluru had asserted that Karnataka has already been allocated ₹928 crore from SDRF from which the Centre’s share was ₹697 crore.
While conceding the delay in providing drought relief to Karnataka, Sitharaman had said that it was not intentional and was taking time because of the extensive procedural requirements involved in the process.
Recently Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also attributed the delay in release of funds to a three-month delay on the part of Karnataka in submitting the proposal seeking funds.
The Congress government says it has submitted a memorandum for drought relief four months ago.
‘Centre not doing favour by giving SDRF’
In a series of posts on X on Saturday (April 6), the Karnataka chief minister criticised Sitharaman for “not being able to distinguish” between NDRF and SDRF (State Disaster Relief Funds).
“Funds under SDRF are allocated every year and this is shared between the Centre and state in the ratio of 75:25. This fund is state’s right and its quantum is determined by the Finance Commission. SDRF is used for routine disaster relief. When the scale of the disaster is large, then memorandum is submitted to the Centre for funds under NDRF,” he said.
Considering that 223 of the 236 taluks of the state have been hit by droughts, he said the money available under SDRF is not sufficient to provide for crop failure of over 48 lakh hectares belonging to 34 lakh farmers.
Pointing to Sitharaman’s statement that the Centre has already provided ₹697 crore under SDRF, Siddaramaiah said it was not doing a “favour” by doing so and that the “fund is something states are entitled to based on the Finance Commission’s recommendation”.
State still needs ₹18,171 crore: Siddaramaiah
Siddaramaiah said the state has been judicious in spending the drought relief allocation made by the Centre, but still needs an additional support of ₹18,171 crore given that the drought-induced damages have escalated to over ₹37,000 crore.
The chief minister said he requested the Centre for the ₹18,171 crore funds in a letter last year. This was followed by a visit of central experts to Karnataka to conduct a study and give a report to the Centre.
He says he and the state revenue minister also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the request.
“Even so, it is not a deliberate injustice of the central government that the high-powered committee meeting led by the home minister, which is supposed to take a decision on drought relief, has not been held so far?” Siddaramaiah asked.
‘State robbed of Finance Commission-proposed ₹11,495 crore grant’
He said while the Finance Commission, “considering the injustice done to Karnataka in tax distribution and GST relief” had recommended a special grant of ₹5,495 crore to the state besides setting another ₹6,000 crore aside for significant infrastructure and environmental projects, Sitharaman rejected these recommendations.
“She implied that the Finance Commission recommended special grants of ₹5,495 crore only in an initial report and not in the subsequent one, leading to the non-disbursement of these grants by the Union government. This portrayal is misleading. The 15th Finance Commission issued two comprehensive reports, one for the year 2020-21 and another for the years 2021-26, without making a distinction between 'preliminary' and 'final' recommendations. Her claims starkly misrepresent the Finance Commission's stance,” he said.
As far as the funds for infrastructure and environment projects are concerned he said Sitharaman wanted the state to fall back on interest-free loans provided by the Centre for the same.
“This raises a pertinent question: Why should Karnataka resort to loans when it is entitled to these funds as per the commission’s recommendations?” he said.
Stating that these incidents cast doubt on the finance minister's proficiency and understanding of fiscal policies, Siddaramaiah said it is worth pondering if she was “genuinely equipped to navigate the complexities of the finance ministry.”
Stating that she cannot “lie” time and again, he dared Sitharaman to participate in an open debate in the presence of the six-and-a-half crore people of the state.
“Let the people decide who is true and who is false,” he said.
