Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday presented a five-point charter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, highlighting the State’s concerns over the sugarcane pricing crisis and long-pending irrigation project clearances, even as he sought Central support on a wider set of developmental and financial demands.Highlighting the recent unrest among sugarcane farmers, the Chief Minister conveyed that the State had put in place an interim arrangement mandating an additional payment of ₹100 per tonne of sugarcane, with the government itself sharing ₹50 of this burden. Terming the arrangement a stop-gap solution, the memorandum argued that the core issues lay with the Centre.The State urged the Prime Minister to revise the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sugar — fixed at ₹31 per kg for several years — and to ensure assured offtake of ethanol from Karnataka’s distilleries. A Central notification enabling States to fix harvesting and transportation costs was also sought as part of a sustainable pricing framework.Irrigation projectsMr. Siddaramaiah pressed for urgent intervention to break the deadlock on multiple major water projects, several of which have been awaiting Central approval for years. These included Mekedatu, Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II, Upper Bhadra and Kalasa–Banduri.While he requested that the Centre direct the Central Water Commission to expedite clearance for the proposed balancing reservoir on the Cauvery, he sought an immediate gazette notification of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal’s award, pending for over a decade.Reminding the Prime Minister of the ₹5,300 crore grant announced in the 2023–24 Union Budget for the Upper Bhadra project, he urged urgent release of the allocation. Besides, he also sought forest and wildlife clearances from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the drinking water projects intended for the Hubballi–Dharwad region.AIIMS demandThe Chief Minister made a strong case for setting up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raichur, an aspirational district in the Kalyana Karnataka region. A separate memorandum submitted in this regard described the region as having “sub-par” health and education indicators and a high populace of SC/ST and backward classes, making it a “dire need” of a high-quality Referral Medical Centre.It was highlighted that the State has already submitted a detailed project report, identified land, and established a government medical college in Raichur to create a basic ecosystem for the national institute. The AIIMS is expected to serve multiple districts and catalyse socio-economic development.Jal Jeevan MissionA significant point of discussion was the alleged financial shortfall in the Centre’s share for the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). The State claimed that while it had achieved over 86% functional household tap connections, the central government had a cumulative short release of ₹13,004.63 crore up to 2025-26. The memorandum stated that for the current fiscal year (2025-26), no central funds had been released, while Karnataka had already advanced ₹1,500 crore from its own budget to prevent work stoppages. Bills worth ₹1,700 crore were pending, with another ₹ 2,600 crore in the pipeline, prompting an urgent request for the release of balance funds, the memorandum stated.Flood reliefOn disaster relief, Mr. Siddaramaiah sought ₹2,136 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund for damage caused by this year’s unprecedented rains, which affected 19 lakh farmers and damaged crops on 14.5 lakh hectares.The Chief Minister expressed hope that the Centre would extend support on both immediate concerns and long-pending structural issues affecting the State.Published - November 17, 2025 09:27 pm IST