BENGALURU: The Karnataka government on Friday released Rs 105 crore under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to give Rs 2,000 compensation to farmers in drought-hit taluks of the state.
The GO issued on Friday stated that the state government is giving Rs 2,000 compensation in the first phase as the state is yet to get financial assistance from the Centre under NDRF. Eligible farmers will get compensation as per SDRF norms after the Centre releases funds under the NDRF, the GO stated. As many as 223 out of 236 taluks in the state are declared drought-hit.
Meanwhile, former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai sought to know from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as to why he took six months to release just Rs 105 crore towards drought relief to farmers. The CM declared 223 taluks as drought-hit but only gave Rs 2,000 per hectare as compensation, he added.
During the previous BJP regime, Rs 2,031 crore was credited into the bank accounts of 14.63 lakh farmers towards crop damage on 13.09 lakh hectares within two months of the flood havoc, he said.