Bengaluru: The official tally of drought-hit taluks in the state climbed to 177 with the inclusion of another 53, with deputy chief minister G Parameshwara saying the number could cross 200 as ground assessments continue.However, the inclusion of Gadag triggered a furore in the legislature with BJP mocking govt over the decision since senior Congress MLA and former minister HK Patil had threatened to resign if his constituency was not declared drought-hit.Moving a motion on the crisis for discussion in the assembly and council, Parameshwara described the situation as a “super El Nino-driven drought” and said the rainfall deficit was the worst in more than 150 years and comparable to the 1876 drought.He said Karnataka received 642 mm of rain against a normal 852 mm, with deficits of 46% in South Interior Karnataka and 44% in North Interior Karnataka.“This is not a drought limited to four or 10 taluks; it has affected the entire state,” he said. “To my knowledge, nearly 200 taluks will be declared drought-hit soon.” He said crop loss was estimated at around 82%, and many farmers had lost two rounds of sowing.He said drought declarations were being made in phases after ground verification and in accordance with Centre’s 2020 guidelines. “This is a continuous process. We cannot arbitrarily declare drought; taluks must meet the criteria,” he said.Govt has released Rs 5 crore per district and Rs 1 crore per MLA constituency for drinking water. It has also sent a memorandum seeking Rs 3,500 crore from Centre for the first 101 taluks, where losses have been estimated at Rs 18,000 crore. Parameshwara proposed an all-party delegation to meet PM and Union ministers.Opposition leader R Ashoka accused govt of facing a “financial drought” alongside the natural crisis. “The finance department has exposed the govt’s position. It has written that the govt has lost its eligibility even to borrow funds,” he said, citing a finance department communication on raising funds to prevent allocations to other departments being cut.GBA minister Krishna Byre Gowda replied, “There is no financial problem in our department.” Ashoka shot back, “I am not saying this. The finance department is saying it.”Ashoka also targeted govt over Gadag. “Is HK Patil an ignorant person? He served as law minister and knows everything. Will you explain to HK Patil why Gadag was not declared drought-hit? Congress MLAs themselves are pointing out the govt’s mistakes. Answer them.”In the council, opposition leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy questioned govt’s preparedness despite advance warnings. “Even during the SM Krishna govt, cloud seeding began as soon as drought was forecast. Why was this govt silent,” he asked.He claimed the previous BJP govt released Rs 100 crore immediately to each district commissioner for drought management, compared with Rs 5 crore now, and criticised the absence of a dedicated disaster management sub-committee. “Files are gathering dust,” Narayanaswamy said.
