Press Meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah State loses more than Rs. 400 crore Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said the State had suffered a loss of more than Rs. 400 crore in the recent rain and floods in different parts. So far 22 persons have lost their lives and 54 cattle heads have perished in rain-related incidents, he said. Mr. Siddaramaiah said here that eight districts were worst hit in the heavy rain and flash floods in the last week of September. Of these, Gulbarga, Raichur and Gadag suffered heavy losses. As per the latest estimates, standing crops on more than 53,000 hectares were hit and more than 8,200 houses were either partially or fully damaged. Mr. Siddaramaiah said that while some parts of the State were witnessing a wet famine, at least four districts – Kolar, Chikballapur, Bangalore (Rural) and Ramanagara – were facing drought situation with the standing crops withering due to moisture stress. The Chief Minister said that after the survey of loss to crops and public and private properties was completed, the State government would submit a detailed memorandum to the Union government seeking additional funds to begin relief activities, and paying compensation to those affected. Compensation amount To a question, Mr. Siddaramaiah admitted that the compensation amount fixed under the calamity relief fund (CRF) for crop loss did not match the actual loss suffered by farmers. He said the State government would consider increasing the compensation amount by adding its own funds after placing the proposal in the Cabinet soon. Mr. Siddaramaiah said that Karnataka had been allocated Rs. 195 crore during the current year under CRF, of which Rs. 97 crore had been released to the districts to take up drought relief works, after 125 taluks were declared as drought-hit. Another Rs. 50 crore was released a couple of days back to the districts affected by rain and floods. He said there was no dearth of funds for taking up relief works in the affected districts. During his video conference with the Deputy Commissioners and chief executive officers of zilla panchayats, clear instructions had been issued on taking up relief works, he said. The amount sought by the district authorities for relief works would be released within a day, he added.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 09:30:17 +0000
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