Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G Parameshwara has sought immediate central assistance for drought-affected areas, urging Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to speed up the relief process.
In separate letters, Parameshwara said the worsening drought had severely affected farmers and rural livelihoods and called for close coordination between the Centre and state government to ensure timely assistance.
Karnataka has so far declared 177 taluks drought-hit. The first phase covered 101 taluks, for which the state sought Rs 3,705.30 crore. A second assessment resulted in another 76 taluks being declared drought-affected. Ground-truthing is under way in 40 additional taluks, and the number of affected taluks could rise beyond 220.
The latest assessment in 76 taluks has found agricultural crop damage over 26.08 lakh hectares and horticultural crop damage over 1.49 lakh hectares. Major affected crops include tur, maize, cotton, sugarcane, soybean and green gram. Onion, arecanut and red chilli are among the horticultural crops affected.
Across 177 taluks, crop damage has so far been recorded over 47.09 lakh hectares, with losses estimated at Rs 46,324.5 crore. The state expects Kharif-2026 crop damage could exceed 55 lakh hectares.
Karnataka has sought Rs 7,142.64 crore under National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) norms, including Rs 4,998.60 crore for input subsidy and Rs 2,144.04 crore for fodder, drinking water and related needs.
Parameshwara also urged the Centre to revise SDRF and NDRF relief norms, saying existing input subsidy levels do not adequately reflect present cultivation costs and actual crop losses.
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