Karnataka has estimated drought losses of Rs 46,324.50 crore across 177 taluks and sought Rs 7,142.64 crore from the Centre’s disaster fund, as Chief Minister DK Shivakumar met the central assessment team on October 3.
The starting point is the rain. Karnataka received 495 mm between June 1 and September 16 against a normal 766 mm, a deficit of 35 per cent.
The crop numbers follow. In the 76 taluks declared most recently, crops were damaged over 27.57 lakh hectares, including red gram on 6.49 lakh, maize on 5.31 lakh and cotton on 4.13 lakh hectares.
The ask to the Centre is far smaller than the estimated loss, which is how disaster-fund requests usually work: they cover relief measures under set norms, not the whole economic loss.
These are the state’s own estimates. The central team’s assessment comes next, and the Centre decides on assistance after that.
Karnataka received 495 mm of rain between June 1 and September 16, against a normal of 766 mm, a deficit of 35 per cent.
In the 76 newly declared taluks, crops were damaged over 27.57 lakh hectares.
Red gram was hit on 6.49 lakh hectares, maize on 5.31 lakh hectares and cotton on 4.13 lakh hectares.
Ground verification was continuing in 40 more taluks, according to LatestLY.
On September 23, Shivakumar wrote to the Prime Minister asking for Rs 1,852.65 crore, half of the Rs 3,705.30 crore memorandum, as interim assistance.
In that letter he warned that crop losses could exceed 40 lakh hectares, according to The South First.
He also asked the Centre to release the second instalment of its contribution to the State Disaster Response Fund in advance.
The interim funds would support input subsidies, drinking water, livestock protection and other relief measures.
The Union government’s central teams assess drought losses on the ground before the Centre decides on assistance from the NDRF.
Drought (representative image), Tomas Castelazo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0