“Karnataka is suffering from a severe drought. Out of 240 taluks, 223 are declared drought-prone. Despite this, the Central government is claiming that we delayed the submission of the memorandum,” he said, adding that the state government is spending its own money on drought relief.
The Centre assured the Supreme Court that it would address the Karnataka government s plea for financial assistance for drought relief by April 29. Attorney General R Venkataramani informed the court that the Election Commission had allowed the Union government to handle the issue. The Karnataka government, represented by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, sought immediate action from the Centre, urging the release of financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
Bengaluru was once a kalyananagara, a city of lakes that functioned as the community centre of local neighbourhoods, critical for local economies, sacred cosmologies, biodiversity and human wellbeing.
The Supreme Court emphasized cooperation between the Centre and states during a hearing on Karnataka s plea for drought management funds. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta suggested direct dialogue between the Karnataka government and the central government instead of court petitions.