Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to expedite the proposal to provide ₹5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Project, which promises to irrigate the state’s drought-prone farmlands.

At the meeting in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah also apprised Modi about a 58 per cent steep cut in the short-term agricultural credit limit to Karnataka by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), which has resulted in the state getting only ₹2,340 crore out of ₹5,600 crore for the current fiscal year.

Siddaramaiah said this cut was expected to impact the cost of finance for farmers.

In the memorandum, Siddaramaiah highlighted the pending project clearances by the Jal Shakti ministry and ministry of environment, forests and climate change.

“Two projects need your urgent attention, viz. the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir on Kaveri River requires approval from the Jal Shakti ministry as well as environmental clearance and the Kalasa-Banduri project on Mahadayi river is at an advanced stage for wildlife clearance. 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. The state government has major plans to improve the infrastructure, decongest the city and upgrade the living standards of the city for all its citizens,” the
memorandum stated.

Additionally, the Karnataka chief minister sought ₹10,000 crore to develop infrastructure in 13 emerging city corporations.