Dear Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji,

​At the outset let me thank you for giving me time to meet you at short notice. I wish to raise some critical issues of paramount importance for our state.

​Firstly, the issue of severe cut in the Short Term Agricultural Credit Limit to Karnataka by NABARD has created serious alarm among the farmers of the state. As against Rs.5600 crore of limit sanctioned during 2023-24, NABARD has sanctioned only Rs.2340 crore for the current year (2024-25), which is a steep cut of 58%. This will seriously impact the cost of finance for farmers, unless the state steps in to provide additional interest subvention which will severely impact our finances. I have met the Finance Minister Mrs.Nirmala Sitharaman in this regard and apprised her of our concerns. I request you to look into this and direct the Finance Ministry to rectify this situation so that farmers in Karnataka continue to receive soft agricultural loans.

​Secondly, as I have requested you earlier, the promise made by the Finance Minister in the Union budget of 2023-24 to provide Rs.5300 crore for Upper Bhadra Project remains to be fulfilled. I understand a Cabinet note has been moved to provide this assistance under Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme. I would request you to give approval to this proposal at your earliest convenience, as the Upper Bhadra project provides irrigation to the parched farm-lands of central Karnataka.

​Thirdly, Karnataka is an arid state and desperately needs development of irrigation potential. This task has been carried out largely by the state from its own resources. However, pending project clearances by the Jal Shakti Ministry as well as by the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change are delaying our projects. Two projects need your urgent attention, viz., the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir on Kaveri river and the Kalasa Bandhuri project on Mahadayi river. The former needs approval from the Jal Shakti Ministry as well as environmental clearance. The latter is at an advanced stage for wildlife clearance. Kindly direct the two ministries to expedite clearances for these projects.

​Fourthly, Bengaluru has emerged as the Tech and Innovation Capital of the country and is one of the fastest growing cities of the world. The city is among the top three contributors to the country’s GDP. The city needs major infrastructure investment. Our Government has major plans to improve the infrastructure, de-congest the city and upgrade the living standards of the city for all its citizens. In my letter of 29.06.2024, which I had the opportunity of meeting and handing over to you, I had outlined our vision and a series of projects that we are taking up. I request you to direct the Ministry of Urban Development, the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Road Transport to look into our requests favourably and provide special assistance to the city so as to enable us to invest in urban transport and public transport for the city.
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​Further, Karnataka is fast urbanizing and we have 13 city corporations which are Tier-2 cities that need massive investment. Government of Karnataka has a programme called Mahatma Gandhi Nagar Vikas Yojana under which we have dedicated Rs.2,000 cr over the next three years. However, this is woefully inadequate to meet the infrastructure to these cities. I request you to direct the Ministry of Urban Development to provide Rs.10,000 cr for these cities under AMRUT or any other schemes.

Finally, we have been raising the issue of Karnataka receiving a raw deal at the hands of the 15th Finance Commission. It is our firm belief that the Ministry of Finance could have set right anomalies in the recommendations that lowered our share in the divisible pool of taxes by 1%. At the very least, the Ministry could have accepted the recommendations made by the Finance Commission to give two kinds of special grants to the state: one, Rs.5495 crore to compensate for the reduction in our share, two, special grant of Rs.6000 crore for Peripheral Ring Road and for rejuvenation of water bodies. Since we are still in the period of the 15th Finance Commission, I would again request you to direct the Ministry of Finance to provide additional grants.

​Further, together with the 16th Finance Commission the Ministry of Finance must make sure that in future states contributing a larger share to the central taxes are not punished by severe cut in share of those central taxes.

​I do hope our requests receive favourable consideration from you.

(Siddaramaiah)