Karnataka says Rs 8071 crore loss due to floods, appeals to Centre to release funds early
BS Yediyurappa told the central team that this was the third consecutive year that Karnataka had suffered heavy losses due to floods
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said the state had suffered losses worth Rs 8,071 crore due to the recent floods. Yediyurappa made these remarks to an inter-ministerial delegation sent by the Centre to assess the extent of damage caused in the state due to floods.
The Centre’s delegation was led by KV Pratap, joint secretary at the Union home ministry.
The Karnataka chief minister said that floods had destroyed crops across 4.03 lakh hectare of agricultural land and explained that this was the third successive year when the state had been impacted by floods. Apart from the destruction of crops, the state had also suffered damages to other infrastructure like roads, bridges, electricity transmission equipment, schools, anganwadis and government buildings.
Yediyurappa also said that as a part of relief measures the state government had sanctioned Rs 5 lakh to those whose house was completely destroyed, Rs 3 lakh to those whose homes had suffered major damage and Rs 50,000 to those who houses had sustained minor damage. Pointing out that last year too the government had released Rs 1,500 crore for such damages, the chief minister said inspite of the challenging economic situation being faced by the state due to Covid-19 pandemic, it has released Rs 200 crore this year.
The Karnataka CM appealed to the Centre to release funds under the National Disaster Relief Fund and other aid to the state at the earliest as it was facing a double whammy of floods and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Deputy chief minister Govidn Karjol, Revenue Minister R Ashoka, water resources minister Ramesh Jarkiholi, Agriculture Minister B C Patil and others were present along with the CM during the interaction with the Central team.