Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara on Friday said another 8-10 taluks, or possibly more, could be added to the list of drought-affected areas in the state after ground-truthing, as the government prepares a final memorandum seeking central assistance.The state has so far declared 217 taluks as drought-hit, and ground-truthing is being conducted in 23 more taluks to assess whether they meet the prescribed criteria, he told reporters here.
“The ground-truthing reports are expected today or tomorrow. Based on the information available to me, another 8-10 taluks, or possibly more than 10, could qualify,” Parameshwara said.
The government would assess the losses and calculate the assistance it could seek from the Centre in accordance with the latter’s guidelines before preparing the final memorandum, he said.
Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has proposed taking an all-party delegation to Delhi to meet the prime minister, agriculture minister and home minister, who is also incharge of disaster management, to seek relief for the state.
“We want to take an all-party delegation. The chief minister has said so. We will request the Centre in person to provide assistance to the state during this distress situation,” Parameshwara said.
He said the memorandum would contain an assessment of the losses and the assistance sought, which the Centre would examine before deciding on the relief.
Asked about reports that opposition leaders might not join the proposed delegation, he said the government would make an appeal to them to participate. If they refuse, the government would proceed with its delegation, he added.
On reports of an alleged sting operation targeting the CM and some ministers, Parameshwara said he did not have detailed information about the matter.
“The chief minister has intelligence inputs and may have received some information, which is why he made the statement. At our level, we do not have details about who carried it out or what exactly happened,” he said.
Asked whether an inquiry should be ordered, he said the decision rested with the chief minister, who had access to the relevant information.
Parameshwara rejected the allegation that the issue was being used to divert attention from pressing public concerns, including the drought situation.
“We have not ignored any pressing issues. As soon as we realised that drought conditions were emerging, we responded immediately,” he said.
The government had held divisional-level meetings in Kalaburagi, Belagavi and Chitradurga to review the situation, while the CM and he had also visited districts to assess the problems, he added.
The Deputy CM alleged that opposition parties were uncomfortable with the government’s efforts to work for the people and garner public support, and said political opposition should be pursued fairly.
Asked whether he has a suspicions that opposition parties were behind the alleged sting operation, Parameshwara said, “Let’s see, as we receive more information, we will get to know things. The chief minister is aware of things.”
On the proposal regarding formation of a political affairs committee in the Karnataka Congress, the Deputy CM said its necessity depended on the prevailing circumstances and that the decision would be taken by the party’s state president in consultation with the high command and the chief minister.
He said coordination between the party and the government could be necessary when decisions involving appointments to non-official positions in the government were taken.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
