Siddaramaiah meets Modi, seeks over Rs 18K cr for Karnataka drought relief

Out of 236 taluks, 223 taluks have been declared as drought-hit, of which 196 taluks have been identified as severely drought-hit.

New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought Rs 18,177.44 crore to take up drought relief works in the state.

The Rs 18,177.44 crore funds include Rs 4663.12 crore input subsidy, Rs 12,577.86 crore emergency relief funds, Rs 566.78 crore for drinking water purposes, Rs 363.68 crore for supply fooder to cattle.

Out of 236 taluks, 223 taluks have been declared as drought-hit. 196 taluks have been identified as severely drought hit. Due to drought, crops grown in 48.19 lakh hectares were damaged, the CM said in a memorandum.

The CM also said that a central team already visited the drought hit areas in the state and team also submitted its report to the government. The central government notably has to release funds to the state as per the team's recommendation.

The CM also requested the PM to increase the maximum days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to 150 days from the existing 100 days in a year.