IFS officer-led team to assess drought in Karnataka

A 10-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) is slated to visit Karnataka for three days starting November 17 to take stock of the drought situation and decide the quantum of financial assistance that the state should get.

The team led by senior IFS officer Amitabh Gautam, joint secretary at the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, will visit 13 districts that Karnataka has declared as drought-hit. The team will conduct a spot assessment of losses due to the drought situation.

Karnataka has estimated a loss of Rs 16,662 crore due to drought this Kharif season and has sought a financial assistance of Rs 2,434 crore from the Centre. The government has declared 100 taluks across 23 districts as drought-hit, which includes Anekal and Devanahalli near Bengaluru.

The IMCT team has been divided into three sub-groups. The first group led by Gautham will visit Yadgir, Raichur, Ballari and Davangere. The second group headed by Central Poultry Development Organisation & Training Institute director PS Mahesh will visit Dharwad, Belagavi, Bagalkot and Vijayapura. The third group under NITI Aayog director Neeraj Singhal will head to Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru and Chitradurga.

The report of the IMCT is screened by a sub-committee of the National Executive Committee (SC-NEC) chaired by the secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare and the final decision on the quantum of financial assistance rests with a high-level committee.