Kumaraswamy attacks Karnataka Govt over flood relief
Bengaluru: Senior JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday slammed the BJP-led government in Karnataka for its "failure" to meet the expectations of farmers, who lost their land and livelihood in the floods.
Kumaraswamy specifically mentioned the distressed farmers of Chikkamagaluru district, which saw the devastating floods damaging crops in huge swaths of land and suicide by two farmers who were unable to bear the loss.
He flayed the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje for not standing with the peasants.
"Thousands of families are in distress in Chikkamagaluru due to floods. Farmers are committing suicide as they were not getting any relief from the government," Kumaraswamy tweeted.
"The Chikkamagaluru MP who should come in support of the farmers is missing from the area, which shows her concerns for farmers," he alleged.
Hitting back at the former Chief Minister, Karandlaje said, "Kumaraswamy has demonstrated what he is. If he says that I don't know the sufferings of farmers then he must be knowing it well because he grew rich by growing potatoes."
Defending the Centre, she said the Union government has long term plans while releasing funds.
The central and state grants would be utilised in the best possible manner, she told reporters in Mysuru. Chikkamagaluru district made headlines after two farmers Chandre Gowda and Channappa Gowda committed suicide recently.
They were devastated after the damage to their agriculture land and crops in the ravaging flood last month as well as in the last four to five days.
Following the news of the death of the farmers, Kumaraswamy had visited their houses on Sunday and gave a cheque of Rs two lakh to Chandre Gowda's family and Rs one lakh to Channappa Gowda's family. Later speaking to reporters, Kumaraswamy alleged large scale corruption was taking place in the distribution of relief money to the flood affected people.
"People told me that a racket is operating, which takes a 'cut' of Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 from Rs 10,000 given for flood relief to the victims. These are only a few instances.
Such phenomenon is not restricted to Mudigere. We are hearing of similar complaints from elsewhere," he claimed. The former chief minister opined that the Central grant of Rs 1,200 crore was final and no other instalment would be on the way.
Elaborating further, Kumaraswamy said the Centre keeps aside Rs 35,000 crore as contingency fund for the entire country and it would not be able to release more than Rs 1,200 crore to the State.
The Centre had released Rs 1,200 crore flood relief as against the demand of Rs 35,000 crore by the State government. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had said that this was only the first instalment, while second instalment was on the way.
However, Kumaraswamy did not seem to be convinced with Yediyurappa's statement. He said, "In the present circumstances, I don't think the Centre would release more funds." The state should utilise the available funds from its own coffer, which he felt has adequate reserves due to good tax collection.
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AI, IndiGo, SpiceJet seek ATF price relief; say airline industry on verge of 'stopping operations'
Mumbai (PTI): Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet have told the government that the country's airline industry is under extreme stress and on the verge of "stopping operations", as they sought revision in ATF pricing and financial support.
The West Asia turmoil has pushed up oil prices, and airspace restrictions have increased airlines' operating costs, especially on long-haul routes. Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) accounts for around 40 per cent of a carrier's operational expenses.
Against this backdrop, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has written to the civil aviation ministry, seeking steps to extend the same fuel pricing mechanism uniformly across both domestic and international operations as was done in the past with the establishment of the crack band.
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With an unprecedented rise in jet fuel prices and exorbitant crack/differential between crude and ATF, the federation said the operation of airlines is being challenged in totality.
"... any ad hoc pricing (domestic vs international) and/or irrational increase in the price of ATF will result in unsurmountable losses for airlines and will lead to grounding of aircraft, resulting in cancellation of flights," the federation, which represents Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, said.
"In order to survive, sustain and continue operation, we request your urgent intervention for immediate and meaningful financial support to tide over the current situation," it said in a letter on April 26.
Also, the airlines have sought temporary deferment of excise duty on ATF, which is at 11 per cent.
"With the abnormal increase in ATF prices from the pre-crisis period, adding rupee depreciation to the increased prices, the 11 per cent excise duty also increases manifold for the airlines and adds to the ATF price as a big impact on airlines," they said.
Last month, the government limited the hike in ATF price to Rs 15 per litre for domestic operations, but for international operations, the price rose by Rs 73 per litre.
The airlines said the situation has practically made international operations, along with domestic operations, completely unviable and resulted in significant losses for the aviation sector in April.
Seeking urgent intervention on the current ATF ad hoc pricing, FIA said the current situation is creating a severe imbalance in domestic and international operations and rendering airline networks unviable and unsustainable.
"The airline industry in India is under extreme stress and is on the verge of closing down or of stopping its operations."
The federation has pitched for a transparent pricing framework under the crack band mechanism (USD 12–22/BBL) that was implemented in October 2022, saying there was a fair and reasonable margin for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
According to FIA, the country's largest aviation hub Delhi has the second-highest value-added tax (VAT) of 25 per cent on jet fuel, while the highest rate is 29 per cent levied in Tamil Nadu.
"The other major aviation cities, viz. Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata range between 16 per cent and 20 per cent. These 6 cities cover more than 50 per cent of airlines' operations within India," the federation said.
