JOIN US The Centre on Friday sanctioned Rs 842.7 crore for three states and a Union territory for dealing with natural disasters, with Karnataka getting Rs 723.23 crore as drought relief.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the high-level committee chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi among others.
“The committee examined the proposals based on the report of the central team which visited Karnataka, affected by drought, and Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh, affected by floods,” an official statement said.
While Karnataka gets Rs 723.23 crore, Arunachal Pradesh has been allocated Rs 84.33 crore and Puducherry Rs 35.14 crore for flood relief. The central assistance to Arunachal Pradesh includes Rs 18 crore under National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).
Karnataka had sought central assistance of Rs 1,417 crore following the damage of rabi crop worth Rs 7,209 crore. Of the Rs 1,417 crore, the state said it needed Rs 1,290 core for dealing with crop failure, Rs 74.67 crore for animal husbandry damage and Rs 52 crore to provide drinking water in rural areas.
In its memorandum submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Karnataka government had said rabi crop in more than 24.64 lakh hectares suffered damage. It said 12 districts of the state — Dharwad, Haveri, Vijayapura, Gadag, Bidar, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Ballari, Koppal, Raichur, Kalaburagi and Yadgir — suffered from drought.
Those cultivating jowar, sunflower, chickpea and linseed suffered heavy loss while those wheat, cotton and rice are partially affected.Besides Karnataka, nine other states, including Maharashtra, are reeling under drought conditions.