Karnataka’s three-day special legislature session is set to bring drought relief, farmer compensation, emergency water works and the state’s response to the Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats into a direct confrontation between the Congress government and the BJP-JD(S) opposition.
Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government was prepared to discuss drought during the session, which begins on Monday, after accusing the opposition of disrupting the previous monsoon session and preventing a debate on farmers’ concerns. He said the special sitting would provide another opportunity to address the issue and decide the government’s next steps.
The drought debate is expected to focus on the scale and timing of relief for affected farmers. Opposition leader R Ashoka said farmers were facing distress because of crop losses and demanded compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre. He also sought Rs 10 crore for emergency water works, while questioning the government’s ability to provide immediate relief alongside announcements of large development projects.
Ashoka called for the special session to be extended from three days to a week. He said the BJP-JD(S) opposition was ready for a debate but wanted the government to demonstrate its commitment to drought-affected communities before the proceedings began.
The Kasturirangan report is another major issue before the legislature. Shivakumar said the Centre had given Karnataka time until September 27 to file objections. According to him, an earlier Congress government under Siddaramaiah had rejected the report, but the Centre dismissed the state’s objections and returned it for a fresh response.
The report has become a point of tension between environmental protection and the livelihoods of people living in the Western Ghats and Malnad regions. Shivakumar said the government believed the report could hurt livelihoods and was holding public interactions in Western Ghats districts, including Hassan, Mysuru, Kodagu and Udupi. The government’s position is that its response should be decided during the legislature session.
Ashoka said the BJP opposed implementation of the report in Karnataka. He argued that conservation of the Western Ghats was important but that restrictions on agriculture, infrastructure and livelihoods should not be excessive. The competing positions place environmental regulation and local economic activity at the centre of the state’s legislative agenda.
The session may also see discussion of the controversy surrounding a government order on the truncated version of Vande Mataram at state functions, although Ashoka did not confirm whether the opposition would raise the matter. The issue has added a political dimension to a session otherwise expected to focus on drought and the Western Ghats report.
Shivakumar said he was committed to raising issues affecting people and described criticism from opposition leaders, including Union minister H D Kumaraswamy, as part of politics. The government and opposition are now expected to take their positions into the special session, with the September 27 deadline on the Kasturirangan report providing a fixed administrative milestone for the state’s response.
