Bengaluru rains: Karnataka to seek special grants, says CM Bommai

Bommai chaired a meeting with the Inter-Ministerial Central Team that is visiting Karnataka to take stock of the flood havoc

Karnataka will seek special grants from the Union government as compensation for the damages caused due to the Bengaluru rains, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said Wednesday.

Bommai chaired a meeting with the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) that is visiting Karnataka to take stock of the flood havoc. Senior ministers accompanied Bommai to brief the IMCT headed by Home Ministry’s joint secretary Ashish Kumar.

“We have shared details on damages caused during three stages of rainfall - July, August and the first week of September,” Bommai said.

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Bommai said another meeting would be held with the IMCT after it visits various districts, including Bengaluru. “A final memorandum will be given to them, which will be an updated version of the one we had submitted last week,” he said.

For July and August, the government has estimated rain-related damages to be Rs 7,647.13 crore.

Bommai said the new memorandum would highlight problems that Bengaluru faced due to overflowing lakes and flooding in low-lying areas. “We will ask for a special grant. River-based floods happen for 2-3 days and then recede. But, this has become a daily occurrence, which must be considered as a special case,” he said, adding that he asked the IMCT to visit Mahadevapura in Bengaluru.

Karnataka will also seek special grants to compensate fisherfolk who lost their boats. “This isn’t covered under the NDRF guidelines. Similarly, we will ask for compensation to commercial establishments that have suffered due to floods as they’re presently not covered under NDRF,” Bommai said, adding that losses caused due to landslides also deserve a special grant.

The IMCT is scheduled to visit Chitradurga, Hassan, Chikmagalur, Haveri, Dharwad, Gadag, Bidar and Kalaburgi districts. However, Bommai suggested they also visit Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts that witnessed the massive landslides, sea erosion and other damages. The team was also asked to take stock of the flood situation in Mandya and Ramanagara districts.

Bommai told the IMCT that Karnataka has a coastal area of 330 km and works worth Rs 350 crore have been taken up to prevent sea erosion. “But, erosion has happened in new spots. Central assistance is required for the protection of the complete coastal region,” he said.

Since November last year, Bommai said Rs 500 crore was released twice to take up restoration of damaged infrastructure. Another Rs 600 crore was released earlier this week. “The state is giving an additional input subsidy for crop loss and Rs 2,452 crore has been disbursed among 18.58 lakh farmers. Out of this, Rs 1,160 crore has been borne from the state exchequer,” Bommai explained.