Karnataka Floods: State asks Rs 4,000 crore for special assistance

Karnataka on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for special assistance of Rs 4,000 crore in the wake of repeated floods and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Revenue Minister R Ashoka and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai pitched for the special assistance during a video conference with Modi, who took stock of the state’s flood situation.

Read: PM Modi holds meeting with CMs of six states to review flood situation

“We have asked for Rs 4,000 crore to be given as special additional assistance,” Bommai said, after the video conference with the PM. “We had floods in 2018 and 2019 also. Then, we had the Covid-19 pandemic. We asked the PM for special assistance to be given outside the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) norms,” he said.

The government also asked the Centre to release in advance Rs 395 crore under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

At present, 56 taluks and 895 villages have been affected by floods. “As per a preliminary assessment, about 3,000 homes have been damaged and there are crop losses on 80,000 hectares. There’s damage on 3,500 km of roads, including landslides. Also, there’s damage to 393 buildings, 250 bridges have collapsed and 104 minor irrigation tanks have been breached,” Bommai said.

“It’s still raining and we’re unable to do a survey on the ground. But our initial estimate is that there are losses to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore.”

Also Read: Karnataka's flood-related losses estimated at Rs 4,000 crore

Since August 1, at least 12 persons have been killed due to heavy rainfall and landslides across 12 districts. “We’re facing two types of floods: The north-east monsoon from the Bay of Bengal and then the southwest monsoon through the Arabian Sea have joined to result in huge rainfall in the Western Ghats and our rivers are flowing in spate,” Bommai said.

Karnataka told the PM that some long-term measures need to be taken at the Centre’s level. “An Integrated Flood Forecasting and Response System should be in place for inter-state river basins such as Krishna. One state’s mistake shouldn’t lead to another state’s suffering,” Bommai said.

The government also pitched a Landslide Hazard Mapping and Development of Early Warning System in the Western Ghats section. “The Western Ghats are fragile; they’re prone to landslides. Such places should be mapped. Not just Karnataka, all states in the Western Ghats range should do this,” he said.

It also asked the Centre to bring coastal sea erosion under the National Cyclone Relief Mitigation project. “River soil erosion is also happening due to floods. Soil erosion should be considered as flood damage,” Bommai said.

Lastly, Karnataka demanded four more NDRF teams be deployed to Karnataka. “At present, 4 NDRF teams and 200 SDRF trained personnel have been deployed. Four IAF helicopters are reserved for us and army personnel are also on standby,” Bommai said.

Ashoka and Bommai briefed the PM on the steps the government had taken thus far. “Flooding is happening in the Krishna and Cauvery basins. We have established coordination with Maharashtra. Even dam-to-dam engineers’ coordination is happening. Our Belagavi DC is in touch with Kolhapur DC. So, we’ve been able to mitigate damages,” Bommai said.