Bengaluru, The number of drought-affected taluks in Karnataka has risen to 226, with nine more being added to the list on Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said.
He also said the state government is preparing a final memorandum to seek drought relief from the Centre. Once the final memorandum is ready, the government will decide on sending a delegation comprising the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister and others to Delhi to submit it to the Centre and seek appropriate relief, Parameshwara said. The Cabinet will decide whether the government should appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court or seek the inclusion of the reservation law in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, he said.
Addressing another critical issue, the Deputy Chief Minister said the state Cabinet would meet on Thursday and discuss the High Court verdict concerning reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
“Ground-truthing has been completed in the nine newly identified taluks, while assessment under the Trigger-1 criteria is underway in some of the remaining taluks.
Speaking to reporters here, Parameshwara, who also holds the Revenue portfolio, said the final memorandum detailing the drought-related losses across the state is expected to be ready within a week. Those that qualify will also be taken up for ground-truthing,” he said. Though the Union Agriculture Minister had assured them the request would be examined, the state had not received any further response so far, he said.
