Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has urged the Opposition BJP to put pressure on the Centre to bring changes to the Manual for Drought Management 2016 (updated in 2020) for the declaration of drought by States rather than “indulge in politics” over it in the State.
In a statement, he recalled his letter to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar on revaluating the parameters for a State to declare drought and said that he was yet to get any reply. He had said in the letter that there are drought-like situations in several taluks of Karnataka, but they did not meet the requirements for declaring a drought as per norms.
“It is imperative to change norms if those hit by drought are to be given relief,” he said in the statement, urging the BJP to prevail upon the Centre to do so, rather than use the situation to “indulge in politics” for short-term gain.
