Priyank Kharge seeks change in Centre’s drought declaration norms

Home Minister and Kalaburagi district in-charge Minister Priyank Kharge is advocating for a relaxation of the norms governing drought declarations in the Union government. Mr. Kharge believes that the current National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) guidelines are hindering State governments from swiftly responding to genuine drought situations.

At a press conference in Kalaburagi city on Tuesday, he proposed reverting to the earlier criteria set before the 2020 revisions and granting States more autonomy in declaring drought based on ground-level conditions, especially for the welfare of farmers. He highlighted that the present NDRF norms make it challenging for States to promptly declare drought even in genuine drought-like conditions, urging the Centre to review the 2020 norms and restore the previous provisions.

In August, rainfall was significantly deficient across all taluks of Kalaburagi district, with deficits ranging from 57% in Kamalapur to 74% in Jewargi. Afzalpur, Aland, Chincholi, Kalaburagi, Yadrami, and Shahabad also recorded considerable deficits. Kharge assured that eligible taluks would soon be declared drought-affected based on the revised norms.

Additionally, the district administration has approached the State government for ₹18 crore in interim crop insurance compensation for green gram, black gram, and soybean crops affected by deficient rainfall during the kharif season, benefiting 37,051 farmers. Kharge questioned the objective of the BJP’s Ballari padayatra and alleged the BJP's failure to produce substantive evidence against B. Nagendra, who resigned as Planning and Statistics Minister.

He also alleged confusion within the BJP regarding the padayatra's purpose, suggesting that some individuals may have been brought to the event for daily wages.