The Karnataka government will give each drought-hit farmer Rs 2,500 as an input subsidy for immediate relief, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara said on 25 September, according to a PTI report carried by The Economic Times.

The first-phase assistance is expected to reach around 45 to 50 lakh farmers and will cost the state about Rs 1,250 crore. Parameshwara said further help would depend on support from the central government under the National Disaster Response Fund, and that it was not possible yet to commit to a revised amount.

He put total drought losses in the state at likely more than Rs 40,000 crore. A first memorandum seeking assistance has gone to the Centre, more will follow, and the state will submit its full requirement under NDRF guidelines once losses are finally assessed.

The Centre has told the state it will send a team, including an IAS officer, to assess the drought, though no date has been set. Parameshwara also cited about Rs 22,000 crore the state spends on free electricity for farm pump sets.

Responding to opposition criticism that the relief is inadequate, he said an all-party delegation would go to New Delhi to brief the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Agriculture Minister on the drought.

Source: Economic Times Agriculture/Food