Siddaramaiah seeks Rs 12k crore drought assistance from PM

Bengaluru/New Delhi: Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking Rs 12,272 crore as a one-time special grant to tackle drought.
Modi met the CMs of Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra separately to discuss the drought crisis.He will meet the chief ministers of eight other states over the same issue.
Siddaramaiah told reporters after the meeting: “The PM gave a patient hearing to the problems being faced by the state. I updated him on the drought situation... and sought additional funds of Rs 12,272 crore.“ The Prime Minister promised he will “try to help as much as possible“ after he meets the chief ministers of all the 11drought-hit states.
Sources present at the hour-long meeting said Siddaramaiah made a detailed presentation on the state's measures to tackle drought. It was a free-flowing discussion, with Modi keen to understand Karnataka's pro gress in public welfare schemes.
Siddaramaiah informed Modi that crops worth Rs 15,635 crore were damaged in 27 districts during the 2015-16 kharif season crop year. Crops worth Rs 7,000 crore are estimated to have been affected during the rabi season in 12 districts.
The CM informed Modi that the drinking water problem has aggravated due to the drought. Major rivers and reservoirs are facing an acute shortage of water.
Siddaramaiah said: “Other states are given higher compensation. I have requested Modi to treat us equally as the drought in Karnataka is next only to Rajasthan's in severity . I asked PM to be liberal in giving funds to the state.“
Asked if Modi has been late in calling the meetings, Siddaramaiah said: “I don't see any politics in this. This is a good development.“ “Farmers have not taken a second crop this year because of drought. We are preserving water for drinking water purpose,“ the CM said.
After the meeting, Modi tweeted: “Urged the Karnataka Govt to give impor tance to desilting, farm tanks & check dams before the onset of the monsoon.This will be beneficial.“
According to the PM's blog, Modi said the Centre and Karnataka should work together to tackle drought. He has asked Niti Aayog to develop an index to measure water conservation and management. His tweet said: “Time has come when states should speak of water conservation efforts & management, the way efforts to increase GSDP & investments are spoken.“
Error in blog circulating on social media After Modi's meetings with various CMs, the PMO began updating his blogs at breakneck speed. But mistakes appear to have crept in. One error which has caught the eyes of the Twitterati is Modi addressing chief minister Siddaramiah as the Maharashtra chief minister. The mistake was being circulated on social media late on Saturday night.