Chitradurga: Karnataka may add more taluks to its drought-hit list following a fresh assessment of rainfall and crop conditions, minister for Scheduled Tribes Welfare and Chitradurga district in-charge minister T Raghumurthy said on Friday.
The state has so far declared 101 taluks as drought-hit due to deficient rainfall, with the decision taken based on prescribed scientific and administrative criteria, the minister said.
In Chitradurga district, Challakere, Hiriyur and Hosadurga have been declared drought-hit. There have been demands to include Chitradurga, Molakalmuru and Holalkere taluks in the list as well. The government will examine the demands and take appropriate action, Raghumurthy said.
He urged farmers not to panic, assuring them that the government would take all necessary measures in their interest.
Assessment based on scientific criteria
According to the minister, the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) conducted a scientific assessment of drought conditions from June 1 to August 12, following the guidelines of the Drought Management Manual-2020 issued by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The assessment is carried out in three stages. The first examines mandatory indicators such as rainfall deficiency and dry spells. The second evaluates factors including crop conditions, satellite-based vegetation indices, soil moisture and hydrological indicators.
Based on these parameters, taluks are categorised as experiencing moderate or severe drought conditions. Ground-truthing is then undertaken in the third stage to assess the actual impact of drought at the grassroots level.
The declaration of 101 taluks was based on the comprehensive assessment conducted by KSNDMC and verification carried out through the e-Governance Department’s ‘Crop Loss GT’ mobile application, Raghumurthy said.
More taluks could be included
The government will reassess the drought situation towards the end of the 2026 kharif season, taking into account the September rainfall forecast and its impact on agricultural crops.
Raghumurthy said additional taluks could be added to the drought-hit list in phases, if required, following a prescribed review and ground-truthing process.
The minister reiterated that the government was closely monitoring rainfall, crop conditions and the overall situation and would take further decisions based on the findings of the assessment.