Bengaluru, Sep 22 (IANS): The Karnataka government on Tuesday included Gadag taluk in the list of drought-hit areas. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G. Parameshwara informed the Legislative Council that 53 more taluks had been added to the drought-hit list, taking the total number of drought-affected taluks in the state to 177.
The BJP mocked the government saying it had added Gadag to the list after former minister and senior Congress MLA H.K. Patil warned that he would resign from his Assembly seat if the taluk he represents was not declared drought-affected.
In the first stage, 101 taluks were declared drought-hit, followed by the inclusion of another 23 taluks in subsequent stages. With the latest addition of 53 taluks, the total has now reached 177.
Parameshwara said the taluks that had been left out would also be considered for inclusion based on the prevailing conditions.
“According to my knowledge, nearly 200 taluks will be announced as drought-prone in the coming days,” he said.
During the proceedings, BJP MLC C.T. Ravi asked Parameshwara whether Gadag, represented by H.K. Patil, had been included in the latest list. Parameshwara confirmed that Gadag had been included in the new list.
However, Parameshwara said the government could not make a drought declaration merely on the basis of a warning by an MLA that he would resign.
His remarks came amid growing discontent among some Congress legislators over the exclusion of their constituencies from the drought-hit list.
Reacting to the development, C.T. Ravi criticised the government, saying that legislators appeared to have to threaten resignation to get their respective taluks included in the drought-hit list.
Ravi also alleged that the government was engaging in politics even over the declaration of drought-hit areas.
BJP’s senior MLC Basavaraj Horatti took a dig at the government, saying that Parameshwara had somehow managed to prevent H.K. Patil from tendering his resignation.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said the government should show concern towards the difficulties faced by people in drought-affected areas. He added that the Opposition would continue to exercise its role of providing checks and balances on the government.
The inclusion of Gadag comes against the backdrop of differences within the ruling Congress over the criteria and process for declaring taluks drought-hit, with legislators pressing the government to include their respective constituencies in the list.
It can be noted that former minister H.K. Patil, who was left out of the Cabinet, has warned that the government has failed to properly identify and categorise drought-hit regions. He has said that if the taluks in the Gadag constituency, which he represents, are not declared drought-hit, he would resign as MLA. He has also urged the government to reconsider the guidelines for declaring areas drought-hit.
In his letter, Patil further stated that officials of the Statistics Department were not following his directions regarding crop insurance.
“The truth is not being respected. Officials are distorting facts for their convenience. They have taken decisions in violation of the guidelines and the decisions taken at the meeting chaired by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar,” he stated.
“This anti-farmer approach is damaging the image of the government. It is regrettable that 27 of the 73 taluks in the Kittur Karnataka region have not been declared drought-hit,” Patil stated in his letter to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
