India News | Karnataka to Declare 7 More Taluks Drought-hit; CM, Dy CM to Lead Delegation to Delhi for NDRF Funds

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 14 (ANI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday announced that the state government will notify seven more taluks as drought-hit, taking the total tally to 226 affected taluks, and will finalise a comprehensive memorandum within a week to seek financial assistance from the Centre.

Speaking to reporters near his Sadashivanagar residence, Parameshwara stated that a high-level delegation led by the Chief Minister along with senior cabinet members will visit New Delhi to submit the memorandum under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) guidelines.

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"Today we will declare 7 taluks as drought-hit. We will start ground truthing for the remaining taluks. In another week, the final memorandum will be prepared. We will get an estimate of the total loss incurred in the state. Discussion will be held on how much we can ask for as per NDRF guidelines. We have decided that the Chief Minister, myself and other members should go to Delhi to submit the memorandum," Parameshwara said.

The Deputy Chief Minister highlighted that crop and agrarian losses this year appear to be significantly severe across the state.

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"We had asked for around Rs 7,000 crores for 226 taluks that have been declared drought-hit this time, and it appears that there has been more loss this year... Last year Rs 18,000 crores was asked," he noted.

Parameshwara further mentioned that the state leadership had reached out to the Union Government seeking relaxations in existing NDRF norms to better address the local ground realities.

"The Chief Minister and I had written letters asking for the NDRF guidelines to be relaxed to some extent. In reply to that, the Union Agriculture Minister has written back to me, informing that the request will be examined," he added.

Addressing questions regarding the reservation issue and the demand to lead an all-party delegation to the national capital, Parameshwara said the matter would be taken up in the state cabinet meeting scheduled for tomorrow.

"There is a Cabinet meeting tomorrow. It should be proposed in the Cabinet, discussed, and a decision taken. We have to either appeal in the Supreme Court or appeal to the Central Government to include it under the 9th Schedule of the Constitution. This should proceed only after it is discussed and decided in the Cabinet," the Deputy CM affirmed. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)