State pegs total loss due to drought at Rs 30,432 crore

Drought in Karnataka has caused an estimated loss of Rs 30,432 crore, Law Minister HK Patil said on Friday.

Briefing reporters, Patil said the Cabinet approved the revenue department's memorandum that will be submitted to the union government in 2-3 days.

Karnataka has declared 195 taluks as drought-hit, making it three-fourths of the state’s geography.

According to the memorandum, the total estimated loss includes agricultural crop loss of Rs 27,867.17 crore and horticulture crop loss of Rs 2,565.70 crore.

"We are seeking relief of Rs 4,860.13 crore as per NDRF norms,” Patil said.

As per NDRF norms, Karnataka can claim Rs 3824.67 crore for agricultural crop loss and Rs 206.39 crore for horticultural crop loss.

The government is seeking Rs 126.36 crore to set up 624 fodder banks, Rs 104.33 crore for 195 cattle centres, Rs 25 crore to provide nutritious food, Rs 50 crore for fodder-seeds supply, Rs 284.40 crore for drinking water supply in rural areas for 180 days and Rs 213.98 crore for the same in urban areas.

The Cabinet also decided to recommend to the union government including the Kunchitiga sub-sect of Vokkaligas under the central OBC list.

"This was a long-pending demand. We’re recommending that they should be considered as socially and educationally backward," Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga, said.

Other decisions

The Cabinet decided that four cities, including Bengaluru, will get new electronics equipment to curb road safety violations such as overspeeding and unauthorised parking.

The Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety project will be implemented in Bengaluru, Davangere, Kalaburagi and Hubballi-Dharwad at a cost of Rs 20 crore, Patil said.

Under this project, the four cities will get speed cameras, speed guns, CCTVs, body-worn cameras and other electronic equipment to identify violations such as exceeding the prescribed speed limit, stopping or parking vehicle at an unauthorised location, not undertaking safety measures for drivers, lack of protective headgear, jumping a red light and so on.

The Cabinet decided to adopt the Registered Vehicles Scrapping Policy 2022 under which 15,295 government-owned vehicles that are more than 15 years old will be discarded. "In the first phase, in 2023-24, the government will destroy 5,000 of its old vehicles at registered vehicle scrapping facilities. This will cost Rs 500 crore at the rate of Rs 10 lakh per vehicle. Upon completing the target, the union government will give the state an incentive of Rs 100 crore," Patil said.

The Cabinet decided to earmark Rs 10 crore for an 'Agri Startup' project to encourage startups and innovation in the farm sector.

The Cabinet approved leasing 45.19 acres of land at the Saidapur village in Dharwad to the union government's National Forensic Sciences University, Patil said. "We have imposed two conditions: Karnataka students should get 25% reservation in admissions at the university and that our police must get access to laboratory facilities," he said.