Amit Shah's claim of Karnataka delaying drought relief request is false: Minister Krishna Byre Gowda
Bengaluru: Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda refuted Amit Shah's statement accusing Karnataka of delaying its request for drought relief by three months. He asserted that the Karnataka government submitted its request on September 22, well within the timeline prescribed by the central government's drought criteria.
Krishna Byre Gowda stated that the Karnataka government declared drought in the state on September 13, one and a half months earlier than the October 31 deadline. He provided details of official correspondence with the central government, including a letter from the Union Agriculture Secretary confirming Karnataka's request for drought relief on September 27.
If you need proof of our submission for drought relief in September, we can provide a copy of the letter from the Secretary of the Central Home Department dated September 27, the Minister said. The letter stated, "It has been decided to form an inter-departmental team of the central government and send it to Karnataka state to conduct a drought study and realize the need for relief at the centre. Due to lack of rainfall in South West Monsoon, the Karnataka Government has declared 31 districts as drought-prone due to crop loss. It has been submitted that the crop has been damaged in an area of 41.56 lakh hectares, and more than 33% has been lost. Thus, I have asked for drought relief through NDRF."
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Therefore, on September 27, the Union Agriculture Secretary acknowledged that the Karnataka government had submitted a proposal for drought relief. In the order letter of the Ministry of Agriculture on November 8, it stated, "A meeting has been called on November 13 to review the report of the Central Government team visiting Karnataka and conducting a study."
On November 20, the Agriculture Secretary of the Central Government wrote a letter to the Home Department, stating, "To review the recommendation of the report given by the central team in the wake of the drought situation in Karnataka, send the final recommendation to the Home Secretary, and the Home Minister should convene a high-level meeting as soon as possible and recommend the Karnataka state through NDRF." Along with this, the final recommendation letter for the state drought relief to the Home Minister reached on November 20. Since then, the recommendation related to the Karnataka drought has been gathering dust in the Home Secretary's room. He said that the BJP government had four months to release drought relief before the announcement of elections.
The National Disaster Relief Authority wrote to the Central Government on January 16, stating, "A meeting should be held regarding drought relief in Karnataka state as per the recommendation of the Secretary of the Agriculture Department." He said that the meeting has not been held till now, and the money due to the state has not been received.
“I, along with the Agriculture Minister and Rural Development Minister, met the Agriculture Minister and Finance Minister and submitted a request. We may be too small for the central government. They may not give importance to our visit,” he said.
The Chief Minister wrote a letter to the Agriculture Department on September 23. He then wrote to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on November 15 regarding drought relief. On the same day, he also wrote to the Union Home Secretary, requesting the immediate release of drought relief funds due to Karnataka under the NDRF.
On November 27, the Chief Minister wrote to the Prime Minister requesting drought relief. He followed up with a second letter to the Home Minister on the same day. Both these efforts were in vain. The Chief Minister and I met the Prime Minister on December 19 to request drought relief, which was also reported by the media. The next day, on December 20, we met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to make the same request. However, we received no response from the central government. Despite these efforts, the central government has claimed to have taken action, which is simply untrue.
I challenge Amit Shah to swear that he did not issue the meeting instruction letter on January 16. It is shameful to lie to the people of Karnataka to cover up this injustice. Do Kannadigas exist only to pay taxes and vote for you? Why this unfair treatment? Karnataka ranks second among the highest tax-paying states. Isn't it shameful to divert our taxes to other states, cheat us during a drought, and then lie about it? If Amit Shah claims to have written a letter to the Election Commission, let him produce the related documents immediately, the Minister said.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
