CM Siddaramaiah announces additional grant of over Rs 1,033 cr to flood-hit farmers
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday announced an additional grant of over Rs 1,033 crore to the farmers affected by floods this year.
The Chief Minister said the state government has also put forth a request to the Centre to release state's share of compensation to the farmers.
Briefing reporters here, Siddaramaiah said there is crop loss in 14.58 lakh hectare area and there are 14.24 lakh affected farmers in the state.
"As per State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms, we are giving compensation. Farmers had earlier received funds under SDRF. Today the state government is giving additional money to the tune of of Rs 1,033.6 crore,” he said.
Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda who was also present on the occasion said the amount is already in the bank accounts of the deputy commissioners of the districts, who are the disbursement officers.
Gowda added that the farmers will get through Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS).
“We are giving compensation to the farmers. This government is in favour of farmers and responds to their sufferings,” the Chief Minister explained.
Siddaramaiah said the state government has already submitted a request to the Centre to pay the state’s share of compensation to the farmers.
“We have asked the Centre for 1,521.67 crore for recovery and reconstruction and Rs 614.9 crore for compensation to the farmers,” he said.
He said the state has informed the Centre that there was damage of property in state due to floods to the tune of Rs 3,455 crore.
“We cannot ask for so much funds because we have to go by the norms. As per norms, we are supposed to get Rs 1,521.67 crore as relief fund to the farmers. We request the Centre to release grants for compensation to the farmers,” the chief minister said.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
