177 Karnataka taluks declared drought-hit, another 20-30 may be added: Parameshwara
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said 177 taluks across the state have been declared drought-affected and another 20-30 could be added as further assessments are completed.
The announcement came during a special session of the Legislative Council convened to discuss the drought situation, where the ruling and Opposition benches also engaged in sharp exchanges over the government's response.
Moving a motion on farmers' problems, Parameshwara described the situation as a "Super El Nino-driven drought" and said the state's rainfall deficit this year was the worst in more than 150 years, comparable to the drought of 1876.
Karnataka has received only 642 mm of rainfall against the normal 852 mm, he said, with deficits of 46 per cent in South Interior Karnataka and 44 per cent in North Interior Karnataka.
"This is not a drought limited to four or 10 taluks, it has affected the entire state," Parameshwara said.
He estimated crop losses at around 82 per cent and said many farmers had been forced to undertake sowing twice after the first crop failed.
The government initially declared 101 taluks drought-affected, followed by another 23 and subsequently 53 more, taking the total to 177.
"This is a continuous process based on ground-truthing and Central guidelines of 2020. We cannot arbitrarily declare taluks; they must meet the criteria," Parameshwara said, adding that another 20-30 taluks could be included in the next round.
He said the state had released Rs 5 crore per district for drinking water and Rs 1 crore per MLA constituency.
A first memorandum seeking Rs 3,500 crore in drought relief for the initial 101 taluks has also been submitted to the Centre, he said. The losses in those taluks have been estimated at Rs 18,000 crore.
Parameshwara proposed that an all-party delegation meet the prime minister and Union ministers to seek additional assistance.
"This session is not limited to just drought, but also discussion on farmers' problems. I request all members to forget party differences and focus on how we can help farmers survive," he said.
Leader of Opposition in the Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy agreed that the situation was serious but questioned why the government had not acted earlier despite warnings from the India Meteorological Department four to five months ago.
"Even during the S M Krishna government, cloud seeding started as soon as drought warnings came. Why was this government silent," Narayanaswamy asked, alleging a lack of administrative preparedness.
He claimed that the previous BJP government had immediately released Rs 100 crore to each district commissioner for drought management, compared with the current Rs 5 crore per district. He also criticised the absence of a dedicated disaster management sub-committee.
"Files are gathering dust. If you did not take emergency measures, this remains only in words," he said.
Narayanaswamy also raised concerns over sugarcane growers in the Cauvery basin, particularly in Mandya. He claimed the area under sugarcane had fallen from 44 lakh hectares last year to 18 lakh hectares this year because of water shortages.
He cited farmer suicides, fodder shortages, borewell failures and power cuts as signs of worsening agrarian distress.
The Opposition leader also accused the government of visiting Delhi "dozens of times for leadership issues" without raising the drought situation with the Centre.
Ministers intervened, maintaining that the prescribed procedures under Central guidelines had to be followed and that relief measures were being implemented.
The exchanges eventually led to a din in the House, with members speaking over one another and Narayanaswamy repeatedly seeking time to complete his speech.
Council Chairman Saleem Ahmed made several attempts to restore order and allow the Opposition leader to continue.
As the disruption persisted and orderly debate became difficult, Ahmed briefly adjourned the proceedings, saying the House would reconvene after a short break to resume the discussion.
