102 taluks to be declared drought-hit after discussion in next Cabinet meeting

Stating that the current rainfall deficiency in Karnataka was among the four worst recorded since 1976, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara on Monday indicated that the State was laying the groundwork to declare 102 taluks drought-hit at the next meeting of the State Cabinet.

“Several legislators have been demanding that the government immediately declare the affected taluks as drought-hit. However, the Centre’s Drought Manual issued in 2020 does not allow such immediate declarations. We have completed the ground-truthing exercise for 102 taluks eligible to be declared drought-hit. They will be declared drought-hit after discussions at the next meeting of the State Cabinet, following which a memorandum will be submitted to the Centre seeking drought assistance,” Mr. Parameshwara, who also holds the Revenue portfolio, told the Legislative Assembly.

He said the ground-truthing exercise would be taken up in the remaining taluks in the coming days. In all, 175 of the State’s 240 taluks were facing a rainfall deficit, while 14 were experiencing a severe deficit, he said. Alleging that several parameters in the Centre’s Drought Manual were not favourable to farmers, he said the State had appealed to the Centre to relax the norms. He appealed to the Opposition parties to support the State’s demand by taking up the issue with the Centre.

Rainfall data

Mr. Parameshwara said the State had received cumulative rainfall of only 454 mm between June 1 and August 24, against the normal 654 mm, marking an overall deficit of 31%. He pointed out that the deficit stood at 31% in North Interior Karnataka, 41% in South Interior Karnataka, 35% in the Malnad region and 24% in the coastal region.

Tougher times ahead

He said the State was set to face tougher times ahead, pointing out that satellite-based weather forecasts had indicated that Karnataka would continue to face a rainfall deficit during the remaining part of August and in September as well. Though a few spells of rain received a few days ago had resulted in inflows into the State’s reservoirs, total storage stood at only 679.6 tmcft, compared with 790 tmcft during the corresponding period last year, he said. The storage in tanks under minor irrigation and Zilla Panchayats was negligible, he added.

Drinking water

Referring to the drinking water situation, the Deputy Chief Minister said drinking water was being supplied through tankers to 758 villages and 114 wards in urban areas. The government had estimated that 2,059 villages could face a drinking water shortage next summer if the situation worsened, and appropriate preparations were being made in this regard, he noted. Declaring that there was no shortage of funds for drought relief, he said a total of ₹306 crore had been released so far to ensure drinking water supply.

The drought had affected agricultural operations too, with only 71% of the targeted area sown so far, he said, pointing out that sowing had been completed on only 60 lakh hectares against the target of 84.10 lakh hectares. The sown crops too were vulnerable due to prolonged dry spells. Pointing out that 132 taluks were facing severe groundwater stress, he said the government was trying to take supportive measures in this regard and appealed to people to give priority to groundwater conservation.