K’taka to give ₹2.5k aid to nearly 5mn farmers

Karnataka will provide an input subsidy of ₹2,500 each to about 4.6 million to 5 million affected by the drought, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister G Parameshwara told the legislative Assembly on Thursday.

The government will spend ₹1,250 crore on the assistance, which will take effect immediately, Parameshwara said while responding to a discussion on the drought situation in the state.

The announcement comes as Karnataka seeks greater financial support to deal with crop losses and other effects of the prolonged rainfall deficit. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has sought the release of 50% of the ₹3,705.3 crore drought relief memorandum submitted to the Centre as interim assistance. The state has said 177 taluks have now been declared drought affected.

Parameshwara said the government would stand by farmers during what he described as an unprecedented drought. He also rejected suggestions that the declaration of drought affected taluks had been influenced by political pressure.

“Only taluks that meet the Central government’s prescribed guidelines and criteria have been declared drought-affected. We have not put any pressure on officials to include any such taluks. If it is proved that pressure was exerted, I am ready to face any punishment,” he said.

The statement comes a day after Congress MLA Yashwantharayagowda Patil submitted his resignation over the exclusion of Indi and Chadachan taluks from the drought affected list. Indi was subsequently added to the government’s ground truthing list on Thursday.

The government has maintained that drought declarations are based on prescribed criteria. Parameshwara said some other eligible taluks were still under consideration.

The minister said crop losses had been reported across more than 40,000 hectares and that the state would soon seek a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to request that the drought be declared a national disaster.

The state is also required to meet its share of crop insurance payments. Parameshwara said 49 lakh farmers had registered for crop insurance, a record number for the state, and that the government would provide ₹1,242 crore towards its share of the crop insurance scheme.

He said Karnataka was also due ₹922 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund under the recommendations of the 16th Finance Commission, of which ₹446 crore had been received so far. The balance was expected to be released shortly.

The government had earlier earmarked ₹635 crore for drought relief and said there was no shortage of funds to manage the situation.

Parameshwara said the state was maintaining financial discipline while meeting its commitments, including the guarantee schemes. He said the government was implementing its promises in phases in the interest of the people.