Bengaluru, September 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday urged the Centre to consider waiving farmers’ loans amid the state’s worsening drought situation, saying Karnataka was prepared to bear its share of the financial burden if such assistance was provided.
Speaking during a special discussion on drought in both Houses of the Karnataka Legislature, Shivakumar also invited Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka to join an all-party delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seek relief for farmers.
“Farmers must be saved during the drought. Just as the Centre has waived loans worth lakhs of crores of rupees for industrialists, it should waive farmers’ loans. We are ready to bear our State’s share,” he said.
Shivakumar said the state was willing to consider different funding arrangements, including 50:50, 60:40 or 70:30, if the Centre provided assistance.
The Chief Minister said Karnataka had previously pursued its claims for relief through constitutional and legal avenues, including approaching the Supreme Court, and recalled securing Rs 3,000 crore in compensation. He welcomed Ashoka’s proposal to accompany him to meet the Prime Minister and said he would seek an appointment.
“I will not do politics on this issue. I will give him the respect he deserves,” Shivakumar said.
The state government has separately sought early central assistance for the drought. Shivakumar recently urged the Centre to release 50 per cent of the Rs 3,705.30 crore sought under Karnataka’s Kharif 2026 Drought Memorandum as interim assistance. The state has declared 177 taluks drought-affected, with the number expected to rise further, according to the latest government assessment.
Defending the government’s welfare measures, Shivakumar said benefits were being provided irrespective of political affiliation. He cited free electricity for 1.60 crore households, 10 kg of rice for 4.40 crore people and the Gruha Lakshmi scheme for 1.21 crore women.
He said he had visited several districts and held divisional-level meetings to assess drought-related concerns, including milk prices, fodder availability and rural employment. He appealed to the Opposition to cooperate with the government rather than turn the issue into a political confrontation.
“I want to move forward through cooperation rather than conflict. If there are things I need to correct, I am ready to do so,” he said.
On water management, Shivakumar said silt accumulation had reduced the storage capacity of the Tungabhadra reservoir by around 30 TMC. He said Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had agreed to construct a parallel reservoir and address the siltation issue.
On the Kasturirangan report, he said the government was seeking the views of legislators, farmers and residents before finalising its position, while maintaining that farmers living along forest boundaries should be protected alongside environmental conservation. Karnataka has previously said it would not allow implementation of the report without considering its impact on farmers and Malnad residents.
Shivakumar also highlighted fiscal pressures from ongoing infrastructure projects, saying the irrigation department had an allocation of Rs 20,000 crore while works worth nearly Rs 1.25 lakh crore were underway.
He further criticised the Centre’s GST framework, claiming Karnataka was contributing a substantial share of revenue to the Centre, and referred to GST being levied on items including farmers’ tractors.
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