Karnataka's ₹22,400 Crore Plea: Deputy CM Seeks Urgent Centre Intervention for Drought-Hit Farmers
Deputy CM G Parameshwara urges PM Modi and Union Ministers to release Rs 22,400 crore to support farmers hit by severe drought in Karnataka.
In a bid to rescue the state's agricultural sector from a deepening crisis, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G Parameshwara has formally requested the Central Government to release drought assistance amounting to Rs 22,400.58 crore. The Deputy CM has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, urging immediate intervention to approve and release the funds.
The Scale of the Agricultural Crisis
The drought has left a trail of devastation across the state, with the Deputy CM highlighting that 226 taluks have been severely affected. The impact on crops is staggering, with extensive damage reported across 57.93 lakh hectares of land.
The economic toll of this climatic disaster is estimated at a massive Rs 62,481.88 crore. This loss has pushed lakhs of farming families, especially small and marginal farmers, into a state of severe financial distress, threatening their very livelihoods.
Revised Financial Requirements
The request for Rs 22,400.58 crore follows a recent revision of assistance norms by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. In a notification dated October 26, 2026, the Centre updated the norms for the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for the period 2026-27 to 2030-31.
Due to these revised norms, Karnataka's requirement for crop-loss input subsidies saw a significant jump:
- Previous requirement: Rs 6,128.70 crore
- Revised requirement: Rs 7,943.55 crore
- Increase: Rs 1,814.85 crore
This adjustment pushed the state's total cumulative financial requirement from Rs 20,585.73 crore to the current demand of Rs 22,400.58 crore.
Concerns Over 'Inadequate' Relief Rates
While acknowledging the Centre's move to revise the norms, G Parameshwara expressed concern that the new rates are still insufficient given the rising costs of farming and the increasing frequency of climatic disasters. The current assistance rates are:
- Rainfed crops: Rs 11,000 per hectare
- Irrigated crops: Rs 22,000 per hectare
- Perennial crops: Rs 30,000 per hectare
The Deputy CM argued that these figures do not reflect the actual expenditure farmers incur on seeds, fertilisers, irrigation, and labour.
"Our farmers cannot be expected to confront the economic realities of 2026 with a relief framework that does not adequately recognise the true cost of cultivation and the magnitude of their losses,"he stated in his correspondence.
Call for Modernized Data and Frameworks
A major point of contention raised by the Karnataka government is the Centre's continued reliance on the Agriculture Census 2015-16 to determine eligibility for aid. Parameshwara pointed out that using decade-old landholding data is outdated and may result in eligible small and marginal farmers being denied essential support.
As a solution, he urged the Union Government to adopt Karnataka's FRUITS database, which he described as a more contemporary and verified mechanism for identifying the actual beneficiaries.
A Vision for 'Viksit Bharat'
Linking the agricultural crisis to national goals, the Deputy CM reminded the Union leaders of India's ambition to become a developed nation by 2047. He emphasized that a "Viksit Bharat" cannot be achieved if a single failed monsoon can wipe out years of hard work, exhaust family savings, and plunge an entire generation of farmers into uncertainty.
The Karnataka government is now awaiting appointments with the Prime Minister and Union Ministers to personally present the memorandum and expedite the appraisal of the state's claims to ensure that financial assistance reaches the farmers without further delay.