Karnataka has added nine more taluks to its drought-hit list, taking the total number of affected taluks to 226, Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G. Parameshwara said in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The state is preparing a final memorandum on drought losses and plans to send a delegation to the Centre to seek relief under National Disaster Response Fund guidelines.
Parameshwara said ground-truthing had been completed in the nine taluks added to the list. The process involves verifying conditions on the ground before a taluk is formally classified as drought-affected. Assessments against Trigger-1 criteria are continuing in some other taluks, and those that meet the eligibility requirements will be sent for ground-truthing, he said.
The final estimate of Karnataka’s drought-related losses will be established through the memorandum, which is expected to be completed in about a week. Relief will then be calculated according to the applicable NDRF guidelines and the scale of the losses, Parameshwara said.
The minister said Karnataka had sought about ₹18,000 crore in drought relief from the Centre last year. This year, he said, losses had occurred across the state and the number of drought-hit taluks had already reached 226. If more taluks qualify, the overall loss estimate will increase, potentially raising the amount of relief sought from the Centre.
The drought classification has implications for how affected areas are documented and how relief claims are prepared. The state government has asked the Centre to relax NDRF guidelines governing drought assistance. Parameshwara said he and Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had written to the Centre on the issue.
According to Parameshwara, the Union agriculture minister has responded that the request will be examined. He said Karnataka had not received any further response from the Centre so far. The statement indicates that the state’s immediate next step is to complete its loss assessment and submit a detailed claim rather than proceed on the basis of the expanded taluk list alone.
A delegation comprising the Chief Minister, Parameshwara and other representatives is expected to travel to Delhi after the final memorandum is prepared. The delegation will submit the document to the Union government and seek compensation based on the recorded losses, he said.
The expansion to 226 taluks also shows the administrative scale of the drought assessment now under way across Karnataka. However, the total financial requirement, the number of additional taluks that may qualify and the amount of assistance the Centre may approve will only become clear after the final memorandum and the subsequent review under NDRF provisions.
