Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah meets PM, insists on sugarcane price, AIIMS

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and placed five major demands concerning agriculture, health infrastructure, drinking water, irrigation clearances and disaster relief. The meeting came amid farmer protests in north Karnataka over sugarcane pricing and the state’s growing concerns about delayed central allocations.

In a post on X, Siddaramaiah said the state had recently witnessed intense sugarcane farmer protests due to the pricing gap. After “marathon discussions” with farmers and sugar mills, the government issued a G.O ensuring an additional ₹100 per tonne to farmers ₹50 from the state and ₹50 from mills taking the net cane price to ₹3,200–₹3,300 per tonne. He said the move brought immediate calm, but stressed that the core problem remained unresolved because the Minimum Support Price for sugar had been frozen at ₹31 per kg, limiting the ability of mills to pay the Fair and Remunerative Price.

Siddaramaiah urged the Prime Minister to revise the sugar MSP, provide assured ethanol offtake for Karnataka distilleries, and issue a central notification empowering states to fix harvesting and transport costs.

The Chief Minister also renewed Karnataka’s request for an AIIMS in Raichur, citing the region’s poor health and education indicators and its large SC/ST and backward-class population. He said land had been identified and a detailed project report submitted.

The state flagged a cumulative shortfall of over ₹13,000 crore in the Centre’s share for the Jal Jeevan Mission and urged early release of pending funds to avoid work stoppages. Siddaramaiah also sought speedy clearances for Mekedatu, Kalasa Banduri and the long-delayed gazette notification of the Krishna Tribunal award. Assistance was requested for flood losses affecting 19 lakh farmers.

He expressed hope that the Centre would act swiftly on Karnataka’s demands.