Bengaluru, Oct 22 (IANS) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister, G. Parameshwara, has written separate letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, urging the Centre to urgently sanction and release over Rs 20,585 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to address the severe drought situation in the state.
In his letters, Dy CM Parameshwara highlighted the gravity of the drought, stating that Karnataka had recorded a 35 per cent rainfall deficit during the 2026 southwest monsoon season. Against the normal rainfall of 852 mm, the state received only 551 mm, making it the second-lowest monsoon rainfall recorded since 1956 and the seventh-lowest since 1901.
The Karnataka government has declared 226 taluks drought-hit and crop damage has been reported across 57.93 lakh hectares, including 53.92 lakh hectares of agricultural crops and 4.01 lakh hectares of horticultural crops. The total economic loss, calculated on the basis of agricultural input costs, stands at Rs 62,481.88 crore, he said.
The state has submitted a comprehensive memorandum seeking Rs 20,585.73 crore in central assistance. This includes Rs 6,128.70 crore as input subsidy for crop losses, Rs 12,146.99 crore as livelihood assistance for 61.91 lakh small and marginal farmers, Rs 1,727 crore for drinking water supply and Rs 583.04 crore for animal husbandry and livestock protection.
Parameshwara particularly stressed the need to provide immediate financial assistance to small and marginal farmers whose livelihoods have been severely affected. Livelihood assistance has been calculated at Rs 327 per day for 60 days. The state has also sought the Centre’s assistance to establish 476 cattle camps and 583 fodder banks to protect livestock.
Parameshwara expressed concern over the continued use of outdated agricultural Census data from 2015-16 to determine input subsidies for crop losses. Calculations based on the old data could result in a shortfall of around Rs 1,669.50 crore in assistance to Karnataka, he said.
He urged the Centre to use the state’s updated Farmers Registration and Unified Beneficiary Information System (FRUITS) database to accurately identify beneficiary farmers and assess their relief requirements.
The state has also sought an additional Rs 427.20 crore under the PM POSHAN scheme to provide nutritious food to schoolchildren in drought-hit taluks during the summer vacation. A further Rs 70.96 crore has been sought under the Supplementary Nutrition Programme to meet the nutritional needs of vulnerable beneficiaries.
Given the continuous rise in agricultural production costs and the period covered by the 16th Finance Commission, Parameshwara also called for a revision of the existing norms governing input subsidies for crop losses.
Referring to the visit of the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) to Karnataka from October 3 to 6 to assess the drought situation, Parameshwara urged the Centre to expedite the examination of the state’s comprehensive relief memorandum.
He called for the team’s recommendations to be submitted to the High-Level Committee at the earliest and for the required financial assistance to be sanctioned and released without delay.
Farmers’ welfare transcends political and administrative boundaries, and the Centre and state governments must work in coordination in the spirit of cooperative federalism, he said.
Emphasising the importance of farmers to the country’s strength, Parameshwara said timely financial assistance was essential to protect agriculture-based livelihoods and help farmers overcome the hardships caused by the drought.
–IANS
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