Karnataka hopes to achieve 75% cut in disaster damage by 2030, minister releases roadmap

Bengaluru: Karnataka wants to achieve a 75% decrease in natural disaster-related damages and losses by 2030, a plan that includes developing policies to insure public and private properties from extreme weather events, according to a new roadmap released on Monday.

The Karnataka State Disaster Risk Reduction (KSDRR) Roadmap 2025-30 was released by Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda.

Between 2015 and 2021, Karnataka suffered damages and losses to the tune of Rs 1.22 lakh crore due to natural disasters, according to the report.

“Karnataka experiences disasters of various scales putting 61.10 million people at risk. Karnataka’s geographic and topographical contexts make its extremely vulnerable to droughts, cyclones/ hailstorms, floods, fire, lightning and heat waves,” the report states.

While about 80% of Karnataka’s geographical area is prone to droughts with many taluks witnessing a dry spell for over three consecutive weeks, the state also saw floods at a frequency of 2-8 years during the 2005-2021 period.

As per the report, 22% of the state’s geography is prone to moderate earthquake risk. Further, 24 % of the state’s area is prone to the cyclone. “Heavy winds, landslides in the Western Ghats account for 30% and 320 km of the coastline is prone to storm surge, cyclones, sea erosion and Tsunami threat,” the report says.

The roadmap comprises short term (2025-26), medium term (2025-28) and long term (2025-30) priorities. This includes “risk coverage” in the form of insurance especially in disaster-prone areas.

Under the roadmap, various government departments have been asked to work towards risk identification, reduction, preparedness, financial protection and resilient recovery. For example, the education department will be required to prepare a school-level disaster management plan.

Green tax proposed

The Karnataka State Disaster Risk Reduction (KSDRR) Roadmap 2025-30 recommends imposing a 'green tax' on transport vehicles that have completed 7 and 15 years from the date of registration. This is listed under the medium term (2025-28) priority for the transport department. The roadmap also recommends tax exemption for alternate fuel or battery-operated vehicles.