Bengaluru, July 9 (IANS) Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Karnataka Leader of the Opposition, R. Ashoka, has urged the state government to immediately announce a farm loan waiver of up to Rs 50,000 for farmers affected by drought and floods and provide urgent relief to those facing severe distress across the state.

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday, Ashoka said that while several districts are reeling under drought, parts of North Karnataka and the Malnad region are grappling with heavy rains and floods, leaving lakhs of farmers, agricultural labourers and rural families in hardship.

He added that the state government should move beyond reviewing the issue of loan waivers and take an immediate decision.

“Farmers need action, not reviews. The state government should immediately announce a loan waiver of up to Rs 50,000 for every farmer affected by drought and floods and extend timely relief,” he said.

Ashoka also criticised the resolution passed at the recent Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) General Body meeting demanding that the Centre release Rs 10,000 crore for drought relief, describing it as “irresponsible and unfortunate”.

He alleged that the Congress government was attempting to divert attention from its administrative failures by passing political resolutions against the Central government.

“It is the responsibility of the state government to assess crop losses, utilise State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) resources effectively, provide interim compensation to farmers and submit a comprehensive report to the Centre. Instead of fulfilling these responsibilities, the government is trying to cover up its failures by blaming the Centre,” he alleged.

Ashoka claimed that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government has provided record financial assistance to Karnataka for disaster relief over the past 12 years.

He said the state has received more than Rs 12,542.97 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), apart from Rs 3,806.30 crore as the Centre’s share under the SDRF.

He added that NDRF assistance is released only after the state completes crop-loss surveys and submits detailed reports to the Centre, and accused the Congress of deliberately ignoring this process.

Recalling the BJP government’s response to previous natural calamities, Ashoka said former Chief Ministers B.S. Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai had personally monitored relief measures and enhanced compensation beyond Central norms.

He also highlighted that during his tenure as Revenue Minister in 2022, the BJP government credited Rs 2,031.15 crore as crop-loss compensation to more than 14.62 lakh farmers and supplemented Central assistance with additional state funds.

Ashoka urged the state government to immediately implement a Rs 50,000 loan waiver, release interim relief through SDRF, constitute taluk-level task forces to monitor relief operations, provide emergency funds to district administrations, complete crop-loss surveys at the earliest and submit reports to the Centre for timely release of NDRF assistance.

He also called upon Ministers and In-charge Secretaries to visit affected districts and personally assess farmers’ grievances.

–IANS

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