CM Siddaramaiah writes letter to Union Agriculture Minister regarding early release of financial assistance from NDRF for drought relief

Dr.Thomas (Special Correspondent)

As you are aware a large part of Karnataka is affected by severe drought during South West Monsoon 2023. The South West Monsoon set in over the State on 10th June, after a delay of a week.

The delayed onset coupled with sluggish progress during June resulted in -56% deficit rainfall, which is the third lowest in the last 122 years for the State.

Thereafter,there were spells of heavy rains during the 3rd and 4th week of July,which was only confined to 10 days.Many farmers were unable to take up sowing in early July because of rainfall deficiency in June.

However,during August 2023,the crucial phase for agriculture and horticulture crops growth,Karnataka as a whole received 73% deficit rainfall,which is the lowest in the last 122 years for the month of August.

The State has witnessed above normal temperatures associated with large deficit rainfall during August and this has severely affected the standing crops in large parts of rain fed areas.

During September,interior parts of the state which comprises major Kharif area witnessed deficit rainfall which resulted in soil moisture stress during maturity stage of the crops.Moreover,the drought conditions have further deteriorated during October.

After adhering to all norms and procedures delineated in the Drought Manual 2020,Karnataka has declared drought in 223 taluks out of 236 taluks out of which 196 taluks are categorized as severely drought affected.

The State Government on 22-09-2023 had submitted the Kharif Drought Memorandum seeking funds from NDRF for undertaking drought relief and mitigation measures in the 195 drought affected taluks.

Consequently,a 10-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) visited some of the drought affected areas of Karnataka from 5th October to 9th October to assess the gravity of the drought situation in the State.

Given the deteriorating drought conditions,a re-evaluation of seasonal conditions was conducted for the entire South West Monsoon 2023 and additional 21 taluks were declared as drought affected.

Supplementary Memorandum seeking financial assistance from NDRF for additional 21 drought affected taluks was submitted to Government of India on 09-10-2023.

Further, the South West Monsoon made its onset along the coast of Karnataka on the 10th of June 2023, marking a delay of five days from the usual onset of the 5th June.

Likewise,the withdrawal of the Southwest Monsoon from Karnataka and the entire country occurred on the 19th of October 2023,deviating by four days from the typical withdrawal date of the 15th of October.

The delayed onset of the South West Monsoon has impacted agricultural landscape of the state,affecting the optimal sowing window in certain taluks and leading to a delay in the sowing process.

Hence,the drought condition was again rev aluated at the end of October and additional 7 taluks were declared as drought affected for the Kharif 2023 season.

The State Government has submitted an Additional Memorandum seeking financial assistance for these 07 drought affected Taluks too.

Totally for Kharif 2023,the agriculture and horticulture crop loss have been reported in more than 48 lakh hectares with the estimated loss (cost of cultivation) of Rs.35162.05 crore.

The State Government has sought Rs.18171.44 crore from NDRF for undertaking drought relief measures in the State.

The Cabinet Sub Committee on Natural Disaster Management,under the Chairpersonship of the Hon’ble Revenue Minister, Government of Karnataka,has actively sought appointments with your office on multiple occasions to apprise the prevailing drought situation in the State,which unfortunately has not materialized.

However,the Cabinet Sub Committee Chairperson and members apprised the Secretary,Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare on the dire drought situation in the State on 25-10-2023.During the said meeting they also expressed concerns at the reliance on the 8-year-old Agriculture Census data of 2015 for computing input subsidy under NDRF for crop loss.

Emphasising the inherent risk of substantial losses in terms of input subsidies from the NDRF to the State, particularly affecting our Small and Marginal Farmers(SMF),it is crucial to reevaluate this reliance on old Census data.

I earnestly request you to consider SMF percentage and farmer numbers as in FRUITS (Farmer Registration and Unified beneficiary Information System) database maintained by the state,which consists of unique farmers information including land holding and is linked to the rural land records Bhoomi database.

As per FRUITS database in these 31 districts there are around 52.73 lakh farmers who have a land holding of less than 2 ha.

The Small and Marginal farmers are most impacted to drought and most of them rely on agriculture for their livelihoods and input subsidy is the only available recourse to them to resume agricultural activities.

The State Government is seeking Rs.12577.9 crore to facilitate payment of Gratuitous Relief towards subsistence of the Small and Marginal Farmers whose lives and families’ lives are completely dependent on agricultural activities for their immediate sustenance.

The prevailing drought condition across the State has severely disrupted agriculture, leading to crop failures and economic distress for rural households.

Hence, there is a dire need to provide Gratuitous Relief (GR) as set out in No. 1 (e) of the SDRF/NDRF items and norms to alleviate the impact on drought-affected families and support them in sustaining their livelihoods.

The existing 50% cap for GR within the Response and Recovery Window of SDRF for a state like Karnataka which has a small annual SDRF allocation,has constrained the State Government on providing GR to the families of the affected families.Consequently, funds for GR have been sought under NDRF.

There is a need to harmonize the input subsidy qualifying criteria between the provisions in the Manual for Drought Management-2020 and prevailing items and norms of assistance under SDRF/NDRF of MHA.

The Manual for Drought Management 2020,states that more than 50% crop loss is ‘severe,’ and eligible for input subsidy but the items and norms of assistance from SDRF/NDRF issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs states that crop losses exceeding 33% due to a notified disaster is eligible for the payment of input subsidies.

Since the 27 moderate category taluks have after Ground Truthing conducted as per the Drought Manual 2020 reported more than 33% crop loss they should also should also be considered for input subsidy claims under NDRF.

It is anticipated that the drinking water situation is likely to deteriorate in the coming months,primarily due to the fact that major reservoirs in the States are currently at only 53% of their total capacity following the primary rainfall season.

This decline in storage levels in our hydel reservoirs has adversely impacted our hydel power generation, which accounts for 20% of the state’s energy requirement.

The State Government has taken proactive and collaborative measures to mitigate the drought’s impact.

In October, Rs.324 crore from SDRF has been released to 31 districts to take up immediate drought relief measures.

Weekly monitoring of seasonal conditions began with the onset of SWM with the Weather Watch Committee conducting regular meetings to review conditions.

The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Natural Disaster convened six times to review the drought situation, implementing necessary policies for mitigation.

Personally, I have been actively engaged in reviewing the seasonal conditions,ensuring a hands-on approach to the situation.

The State Government’s welfare schemes, especially those targeted towards women,have played a significant role in alleviating the impact of the drought to a certain extent, however with the NDRF assistance we hope to do more.

I request you to ensure that the Sub-Committee of National Executive Committee submits its recommendations at the earliest.

I shall be thankful if you could expedite the process and enable early release of funds from NDRF which would then facilitate timely disbursement of input subsidy and gratuitous relief to the distressed farmers.