Karnataka seeks Rs 7142 crore from Union government for drought relief

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday, October 3, sought Rs 7,142.64 crore in drought relief from the Union government as an inter-ministerial team began assessing crop losses across the state.

The state government has declared 177 of Karnataka’s 240 taluks drought-affected and has estimated losses at Rs 46,324.50 crore. The Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), led by Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry Joint Secretary Ajit Kumar Sahu, began its three-day field assessment on Saturday.

The state had initially declared 101 taluks drought-affected and sought Rs 3,705.30 crore under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) norms. After another 76 taluks were added to the list, Karnataka submitted a supplementary memorandum seeking Rs 3,437.34 crore, taking its total demand to Rs 7,142.64 crore.

At a meeting with the IMCT team, Shivakumar said farmers and the general public were facing severe hardship and urged the Union government to provide assistance according to NDRF norms.

“Farmers are in severe distress. The Union government should come to their aid,” he said.

The first memorandum, covering 101 taluks, estimated losses at Rs 18,748.23 crore and sought Rs 3,705.30 crore. This included Rs 2,017.26 crore for agriculture, Rs 583.04 crore for animal husbandry, Rs 805 crore for drinking water supply and Rs 300 crore as gratuitous relief.

The supplementary memorandum for the additional 76 taluks estimated losses at Rs 27,576.22 crore and sought Rs 3,437.34 crore. Of this, Rs 2,981.34 crore was sought as agricultural input subsidy and Rs 456 crore for drinking water supply.

The state government said crop damage across the additional 76 taluks covered 27.57 lakh hectares, including 26.08 lakh hectares of agricultural crops and 1.49 lakh hectares of horticultural crops.

Among agricultural crops, red gram was the worst affected, with damage reported across 6.49 lakh hectares, followed by maize at 5.31 lakh hectares, cotton at 4.13 lakh hectares, sugarcane at 2.80 lakh hectares, soybean at 1.90 lakh hectares and green gram at 1.81 lakh hectares.

Among horticultural crops, onion accounted for 0.54 lakh hectares of damage, followed by arecanut at 0.33 lakh hectares and red chilli at 0.17 lakh hectares.

The state said the additional 76 taluks recorded a 35% rainfall deficit between June 1 and September 16, with Karnataka receiving 495 mm of rainfall against the normal 766 mm. The deficit was 47% in south interior Karnataka, 42% in north interior Karnataka, 37% in Malnad and 27% in coastal Karnataka.

Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G Parameshwara said the state had suffered around 82% crop loss. He said recent rainfall would have little impact on crops that had already been damaged or help with drinking water shortages.

“The rainfall over the past two or three days will not benefit crops that have already been damaged. Nor has there been enough rain to resolve drinking water concerns,” Parameshwara said.

The state has also briefed the IMCT team on drinking water availability, reservoir and lake storage, fodder availability, crop insurance, input subsidies and measures to prevent distress migration. Around 49 lakh farmers have enrolled for crop insurance, Parameshwara said.

The IMCT team has been divided into three groups to assess different parts of the state. The teams will visit affected areas, verify the state government’s data and submit a report. Sahu said the team would assess the ground situation and collect data from state officials before preparing an objective report.

Ground verification is also under way in other taluks. Parameshwara said 23 more taluks would undergo ground-truthing and those meeting the criteria would be declared drought-affected.

The state government has taken up works expected to generate around 1.27 lakh person-days of employment in drought-hit areas, besides measures for drinking water and fodder supply and prevention of distress migration.

Shivakumar also raised demands from sugarcane growers for higher prices and dairy farmers for an increase in milk procurement prices.

The state government has said it is seeking assistance under existing NDRF norms rather than any special package. “We are not asking for any additional or special assistance. Our only request is that the situation be assessed fairly and that Karnataka receive what is due under the rules,” Parameshwara said.