Govt ignored climate change warnings, says Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the BJP government sat on warnings by experts on climate change, resulting in large-scale flooding across the state, including Bengaluru.

Siddaramaiah was speaking in the Assembly where he initiated a debate on the flood situation.

"Experts had warned of extreme weather events due to climate change and that the government should take precautionary measures," Siddaramaiah said, accusing the BJP government of being "irresponsible".

Also Read | Heavy rains, floods paralyse parts of North Karnataka districts

Siddaramaiah asked the government to explain what action it had taken on the Karnataka State Action Plan on Climate Change prepared by the Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI). "This report predicted that in places that get less than 100 mm rainfall such as the outskirts of Bengaluru and districts like Kalaburagi would get 50-100 mm rainfall on a single day. That's exactly what happened in places like Badami and Guledagudda," he said.

Bengaluru, he said, should have received 475 mm of rainfall, but the city got 1,086 mm until September 6. "Ramanagar got 1,090 mm against 465 mm, Tumakuru got 1,004 mm against 355 mm...like this, rainfall has more than doubled and the government had these reports. No action was taken. Due to the government's negligence, 122 people and 462 livestock died and a lot of infrastructures got damaged," he said.

By 2030, Siddaramaiah said paddy yield will reduce by 5.6%, grams by 19.2%, ragi by 12%, groundnut by 9.6% and soybean by 28.6%. "Similarly, maize yield will go up 24.5%, sugarcane 6.1% and cotton 55%," he said, citing a report.

Also Read: Ghataprabha, Bhima, Doni rivers unleash flood fury in North Karnataka

Siddaramaiah also attacked the BJP government for the flood havoc in Bengaluru.

"Flooding caused property loss in many households. However, the government has not compensated anyone," he said, adding that stormwater drain encroachments should be cleared. "The government has not cleared a single encroachment since coming to power. In contrast, they made a law to hand over properties to those who have encroached government land," he said.

Siddaramaiah warned the government that 'Brand Bengaluru' would take a beating. "The city's glory will be lost," he said.

Crop loss

Also Read: Woman killed in wall collapse due to rain in Karnataka

Siddaramaiah said that over the last four years, crop losses to farmers have occurred to the tune of Rs 2 lakh crore. However, the relief offered for crop loss was only Rs 2,134 crore.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said a crop loss survey is done for 1.04 lakh farmers in the first batch and they will get Rs 116.38 crore as compensation. "Earlier, it used to take 6-8 months for farmers to get compensated. Now, we're making immediate payments thanks to software we've developed," he said.

Bommai also said Karnataka is the only state to pay crop loss compensation over and above NDRF norms. The government pays Rs 13,600 per hectare for rain-fed crops, Rs 25,000 for irrigation crops and Rs 28,000 for multi-year crops.