Karnataka will submit a memorandum to the Union government within the next few days seeking drought relief for 101 taluks identified as drought-affected, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwar said after a state cabinet meeting in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The state government has estimated drought-related losses, including crop losses, at Rs 18,000 crore.
Parameshwar said the memorandum would be submitted shortly and that additional taluks could be added to the list in the coming days. The proposed request is intended to help Karnataka access relief from the Union government for addressing the impact of drought.
According to the Deputy Chief Minister, the 101 taluks were identified using parameters prescribed by the Union government. These included satellite imagery, green cover and the duration of dry spells. “The assessment is not made manually,” Parameshwar said, defending the basis on which the affected areas were identified.
He said the state had asked the Union government to relax the existing parameters used to declare taluks drought-affected, but had not received a response. Some taluks were left out because the parameters had not been relaxed, he said, adding that they could be included in the list at a later stage.
The state’s estimated losses were calculated according to guidelines of the National Disaster Response Fund, Parameshwar said. The current estimate of Rs 18,000 crore is lower than the Rs 39,000 crore in losses that he said Karnataka suffered during the previous year. On that occasion, the state had sought Rs 18,000 crore under the NDRF guidelines, but the Union government did not respond to the request, according to the Deputy Chief Minister.
Parameshwar recalled that Karnataka later approached the Supreme Court over the issue. The court directed the Union government to release Rs 3,500 crore in relief, and the amount was subsequently released, he said. He expressed confidence that the Union government would respond positively to the state’s latest request for drought assistance.
The Deputy Chief Minister also said the state would ask the Union government to consider waiving farm loans to assist farmers facing distress. He said the government would explore the possibilities while taking into account Karnataka’s financial condition. Parameshwar referred to the farm-loan waiver announced by the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and earlier waivers implemented in Karnataka during governments led by Siddaramaiah and during the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition administration.
The memorandum and any further additions to the drought-affected list are the next official steps in Karnataka’s request for relief. The Union government’s response will determine whether assistance is released under the applicable drought-relief framework.
