Today, the Centre confirmed Rs. 795.54 crore to Karnataka as funds. The fund was provided for the government to provide relief to the farmers who had lost their winter crops in 2016 due to the severe drought.
A High Level Committee (HLC) meeting was conducted to make the decision regarding the fund and headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The meeting also involved Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, and senior officers.
An official statement reported that the HLC approved the fund from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).
The initial amount demanded was Rs. 3,310 crore by the state government. Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said, “We are glad the HLC meeting was scheduled for today and the decision has been taken. Though the relief amount is lower than our demand, it is higher than Rs 607 crore sanctioned for rabi crop loss in 2015-16.”
The Minister added, “There is always delay in sanctioning of the funds after the HLC decision. There was three months delay in release of drought relief funds for kharif crop loss in 2016-17.”
The early release of funds will be of great use to the farmers who at present are preparing for the Kharif (summer) sowing this year. The state has been suffering from droughts for three years continuously. But so far the state is experiencing good rainfall except for 8 districts. The state is keeping a close eye on monsoon this year and ensuring to take appropriate measures to help farmers during the summer crops season.
