Karnataka seeks Rs 8,071 crore rain relief from Centre

BENGALURU: Karnataka has sought financial assistance of Rs 8,071 crore from the central government to repair the damage caused by floods and landslides.
The BS Yediyurappa government submitted a detailed report on the losses to an inter-ministerial team from Delhi, which arrived in Bengaluru on Monday to assess rain devastation.

The team, led by KV Pratap, joint secretary, Union ministry of home affairs, will tour flood-affected Kodagu, Belagavi and Dharwad districts on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will meet the chief minister and his cabinet members again before returning to the national capital on Thursday.
Yediyurappa informed the team that standing crops on 4 lakh hectares had suffered damage because of floods. Several roads, bridges, school buildings, houses, government property and electrical transformers were also damaged.
For the past few years, Karnataka has been providing up to Rs 5 lakh for reconstruction of houses. “Last year, the state government spent Rs 1,500 crore to rebuild houses. This year, we are prepared to spend Rs 200 crore despite the Covid-induced financial constraints,” Yediyurappa said. He said the Centre had released Rs 460 crore under the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF). But in view of the dual challenges of Covid-19 and floods, it should release more funds, he added. Yediyurappa urged the visiting team to highlight before the Centre the need for revising guidelines on aid provision under the state and national disaster relief funds. “The guidelines are supposed to be revised this year. I request the Centre to do it immediately,” the chief minister added.