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Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday held discussions with the Centres Inter-Ministerial Team led by Ajit Kumar Sahu, Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, over the drought situation and crop losses in the state.
The Central team has arrived in Karnataka to assess the situation on the ground and evaluate the extent of damage caused by deficient rainfall and the resulting impact on farmers. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, Chief Ministers Economic Advisor LK Ateeq, Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner Uma Mahadevan, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Tushar Girinath, Additional Chief Secretary of the Finance Department Ritesh Kumar Singh and Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department (Disaster Management) Manoj Kumar Meena were among the senior officials present during the discussions. The meeting comes amid Karnatakas demand for central assistance to support farmers affected by the drought and crop losses across several parts of the state. Earlier on Saturday, Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking urgent central assistance for farmers in Karnataka. Kharge said the state was facing one of its gravest drought situations in recent years, marked by significant rainfall deficiency, widespread crop losses and distress among lakhs of farming families. According to Kharge, Karnataka has sought Rs 3,705.30 crore in assistance under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) framework against estimated losses of Rs 18,748.23 crore. He urged the Centre to immediately release the amount sought by the state and sought the deputation of a Central team to Kalyana Karnataka to assess the drought damage. Kharge also called for input subsidy for small and marginal farmers to be calculated using Karnatakas updated Bhoomi land records instead of the 2015-16 Agriculture Census, arguing that this would help ensure eligible farmers are not excluded from relief. He further sought the completion of drought declarations for 11 additional taluks currently undergoing ground-truthing and urged that qualifying areas be treated as part of a continuing drought event for central assistance. Karnataka has declared 177 taluks drought-affected, while ground-truthing is underway in additional areas. The state had initially sought Rs 3,705.30 crore for 101 drought-affected taluks. (ANI)
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