Will meet Modi to seek more funds for flood hit Karnataka: CM Yediyurappa
Bengaluru, Oct 5: A day after the Centre sanctioned Rs 1,200 crore as initial relief for flood ravaged Karnataka, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday said he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seek more funds.
"About Rs 35,000 crore is our rough (damage) estimate. We are yet to know the actual amount. Our state has suffered more losses than any other state due to floods this time.
I will meet the Prime Minister and seek more funds to be released from the centre. As immediate measure in the first stage Rs 1,200 core has been released by the central government," Yediyurappa said.
Speaking to reporters in Alamatti, Yediyurappa expressed the hope that more funds would be released at the earliest.
The Chief Minister said there was large-scale crop damage and added that he would seek the central government's cooperation as to what extent they could provide assistance.
In the next budget, the state government would also make provision for more funds for the purpose and try to give assistance to the maximum extent, he said.
Yediyurappa said the government would fulfill its commitment of providing Rs five lakh each for damaged houses for reconstruction.
Amid intense criticism over the delay in release of central funds for flood relief, the centre on Friday had announced release of Rs 1,200 crore in advance from the National Disaster Response Fund to Karnataka.
Not satisfied with the allocation, the state Congress termed it as a 'humiliation' to the people of the state.
Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah said "Rs 1,200 crore is not sufficient. We had asked Rs 5,000 crore as interim relief."
Speaking to reporters here, he said the state should put pressure on the central government to get more relief amount and till then, spend from its coffers.
Another senior Congress leader R V Deshpande said the state government should work more effectively and urged the Centre to release Rs 5,000 crore "immediately" for relief work, as Rs 1,200 crore was not sufficient.
As many as 103 taluks in 22 districts were affected due to the floods in August, in which over 80 people were killed.
Around seven lakh people were shifted to safe areas and thousands of houses were damaged.
Karnataka has sent a flood damage estimate of Rs 35,160.81 crore to the union government, reducing it by Rs 3,290 crore after the Centre objected to the inclusion of private buildings that were affected.
Meanwhile Revenue Minister R Ashoka told reporters here that as per NDRF guidelines, the state has to get Rs 3,891.80 crore, out of which Rs 1,200 crore was released, which was welcome.
"The guidelines were not prepared by the Narendra Modi government, but by the previous UPA government..... We request that the remaining amount also be released at the earliest," he said.
Clarifying that the centre had not rejected the state's flood report, he said they had just sought some clarification on it.
Ashoka's statement came amid media reports that the Centre had sent back the state government's report on flood and rain related damages in Karnataka.
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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.
