India, Nov. 11 -- Karnataka will pay up to Rs 5,000 in drought relief to every eligible farmer in two instalments and will do so whether or not the Centre releases its share, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The assurance came as the government worked through complaints that the first instalment of Rs 2,500 had reached farmers in uneven amounts.

Shivakumar said the first tranche had already been released and that cases where the money had not landed were being checked. "Nobody needs to panic," he told reporters, adding that the state had committed itself to the full amount in two parts. The problems, he said, were largely to do with incorrect bank account details and adjustments against outstanding loans, and...