Karnataka set to seek additional relief funds from Union government; declares 22 more taluks as drought hit

A Cabinet sub-committee headed by Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda had met on 9 October, where deputy commissioners of all districts were instructed to conduct another round of crop survey and “ground truthing” in 22 out of the 34 taluks that were left out of the drought list.

Gowda said that another memorandum will be submitted to the Union government Monday, 16 October, seeking additional relief funds for the state.

Cabinet sub-committee meeting

In the first phase, 195 talukas out of 236 talukas of the state were declared drought-affected, the revenue minister said.

“But this year there has been a severe drought, which is unprecedented in the history of the state, and almost all the districts are rain-deficit. Hence there was a demand to declare the rest of the taluks also as drought affected,” Gowda said on Frida, 13 October.

Speaking to media earlier about the decision to declare 195 taluks drought hit, Gowda told reporters: “In the first round, we ordered the drought survey in 113 talukas. Among them, 62 were eligible to be declared drought-hit as per the guidelines of the Union government. But as per the information received from the farmers and elected members and Cabinet ministers, and deliberations in the Cabinet meeting, many more talukas have been severely affected.”

Speaking about the drought situation, the minister further said, “There is a green cover but farmers are complaining about moisture distress. The farmers are in distress as the condition of the crops is very disappointing. We have decided to carry out a scientific study on this.”

He added, “Scientifically, there is vegetative growth, but there will be no yield in these crops. We are not able to fit these talukas in the Union government guidelines. Thus, we have decided to submit a scientific report.”

On 9 October, the Karnataka government had also asked the Union government to increase the employment days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from 100 days to 150 days given the severe drought prevailing in the state.

Related: Karnataka government identifies 195 talukas as drought-hit

11 taluks facing severe drought

As per the survey and ground truthing reports, 22 taluks have now been declared drought-affected, out of which 11 taluks have qualified as facing “severe drought” and 11 taluks have qualified as facing “moderate drought”.

The report also mentions that if the crop survey conducted till the end of September only is considered, 17 out of 22 taluks can be declared as “severe drought affected” and the remaining five taluks can be identified as “moderately drought affected”.

Gowda said that the memorandum will be submitted on 16 October, and the state has an opportunity to seek an additional drought relief of ₹300 crore to 350 crore, as per Union government guidelines.

During the meeting on 13 October, with senior officials, Gowda expressed displeasure that the Union government does not have accurate data on the number of small and micro farmers in the state, as a result of which the state is being treated unfairly with regard to disbursal of the drought relief fund.

Also Read: Karnataka urges increase in NREGS employment days to 150

70 percent small farmers

“There are about 68 to 70 percent of small farmers in the state. However, according to the previous census of the Union government, it is only 45 percent. Therefore, the drought relief fund that is being released to the state is also unfair,” Gowda said, according to his office.

Pointing out that as per the Centre’s guidelines regarding drought relief, compensation cannot be given to those who own more than five acres of agricultural land, the minister said, however, due to lack of rains, 41.11 lakh hectares of land in the state has witnessed crop loss.

“Additionally, 10.5 lakh hectares of land under cultivation will also be included in this list. There is no hope that the crops in the rest of the land will also give any yield to the farmers. In addition to this, if the relief is released on the basis of central government data, it will cause further injustice to the state,” he said.

The figures of small and micro farmers keep changing from time to time. The Union government should conduct a regular census in this regard. However, it is unfair to delay the census of small and micro farmers and consider the previous census data.

Therefore, Gowda has instructed the officials to mention in the memorandum that the Union governemnt should consider the latest statistics of the state government in the process of deciding and releasing the drought relief, his office said.

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