Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday and submitted memorandums regarding the implementation of the Mekedatu dam project and increasing the fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane.
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Other issues over which Siddaramaiah submitted memorandums include setting up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Raichur, clearing the dues of Jal Jeevan Mission works, approval for the Mahadayi project, and relief for flood-hit regions of North Karnataka.
In a memorandum regarding the Mekedatu project, Siddaramaiah noted that the Supreme Court had recently dismissed an application by Tamil Nadu against the project and directed the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and Central Water Commission (CWC) to make a decision on the permissibility of the project.
“As CWMA has already asked CWC to appraise the project, we request the Union Government to issue directions to CWC for expeditious clearance to the project,” he said in the memorandum.
On demands by sugarcane farmers to increase the FRP for the crop, Siddaramaiah said the state government had recently assured an additional Rs 100 per tonne for the farmers. “It has not fully bridged the gap. The structural problem, in spite of our intervention, continues to remain given the fact that the millers’ inability to pay this price is a direct consequence of the stagnant Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sugar, which has been frozen at ₹31 per kg,” the memorandum said.
The memorandum urged the prime minister to revise the MSP for sugar, increase ethanol procurement for oil companies from distilleries in Karnataka, and to divorce sugarcane prices from harvest and transport costs, which are currently part of the FRP.
Another memorandum said the state had submitted a memorandum for flood relief seeking compensation of Rs 2,135.99 crore from the Central Government. Of the amount sought, Rs 614.32 crore is for crop input subsidy, while Rs 1,521.67 crore is for infrastructure reconstruction works.
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Siddaramaiah also urged the prime minister to ensure that the Krishna Tribunal Award of 2013 is notified in the gazette immediately and to grant environment clearance for the implementation of the Mahadayi project to divert water from the river’s tributaries to drought-hit districts of North Karnataka.