BENGALURU | September 8, 2026 — Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G. Parameshwara said 25 more taluks have qualified for declaration as drought-affected areas and will be added to the list soon, as the state continues a phased assessment of rainfall and drought conditions.
Speaking to reporters near his residence in Sadashivanagar, Parameshwara said the drought assessment had not been delayed and would continue until the impact of deficient southwest and northeast monsoons had been examined. The first phase has already resulted in 101 taluks being declared drought-affected, he said.
The minister said the second phase of assessment was under way and that 25 taluks had met the eligibility criteria for declaration. He added that Karnataka could eventually see more than 200 taluks classified as drought-affected this year, similar to the previous year, when about 200 taluks were included in the drought list.
“Until the southwest and northeast monsoons reduce, the assessment will continue,” Parameshwara said, according to the statement. He also said drought conditions prevailed across the state except in coastal areas.
His comments came amid protests and allegations by some legislators that their taluks had been deliberately left out of the drought-affected list. Rejecting the allegation, Parameshwara said there was no need for concern that severely affected taluks would be excluded intentionally. He said the drought declaration process was not influenced by the political affiliation of legislators.
Parameshwara said the existing list already included taluks represented by opposition legislators. He also argued that the state government could not independently declare drought-affected areas if it wanted to secure drought relief from the Union government.
According to the minister, declarations are made under central government rules after satellite imagery, ground-truthing and scientific assessments are examined. He said the process had been explained during the state legislature’s session.
The classification of a taluk as drought-affected is linked to the process of seeking central assistance. Parameshwara said the state needed to follow the prescribed assessment process rather than make declarations based solely on its own decisions. The minister did not provide a date for the formal notification covering the additional 25 taluks.
The minister also addressed questions about the government’s decision to distribute 1,453 sites in connection with the NICE project. Responding to a letter from former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, he rejected allegations that ministers were benefiting from the decision.
Parameshwara said the state government had taken the decision on humanitarian grounds and in accordance with a Supreme Court order. He said the objective was to avoid injustice to farmers who had surrendered land worth hundreds of crores for a few lakh rupees. He added that the decision was not intended to provide personal benefits to anyone.
The Revenue Department’s next step on the drought issue is the formal declaration of the additional taluks after the ongoing assessment process is completed.
