Senior advocate Kapil Sibal informed the bench that while the state had received ₹3,450 crore, it had requested assistance amounting to ₹18,000 crore. The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for July regarding Karnataka’s plea for the Union government to release financial aid from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for drought management.
The Union government had disclosed on April 29 that approximately ₹3,400 crore had been disbursed to Karnataka for drought management. The case was brought before a bench comprising justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta on Monday.
Representing the Karnataka government, Senior advocate Kapil Sibal stated that the state would submit an affidavit regarding the matter, and the bench postponed the hearing to July. During the previous hearing, Sibal had highlighted that while ₹3,450 crore had been provided, the state had requested ₹18,000 crore in assistance.
The petition aims to declare the Union government’s failure to release financial aid for drought relief as a violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. It emphasizes the severe impact of drought on the state, with a significant number of taluks declared as drought-affected for the upcoming kharif 2023 season.
The plea outlines the extensive crop loss and the financial burden on the state, seeking ₹18,171.44 crore from the Union government under the NDRF. It criticizes the government’s actions as arbitrary and in violation of statutory provisions, including the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the manual for drought management.
According to the plea, despite the submission of reports and assessments, the Union government has not made a final decision on providing assistance from the NDRF, contravening the established protocols for disaster relief management.
