More Vijayapura Taluks Likely to Be Declared Drought-Hit, Says Minister

More taluks in Vijayapura district are likely to be added to the list of drought-hit areas, district in-charge Minister and Minister for Large and Medium Industries M.B. Patil said on Sunday. He was responding to demands that Indi, Chadachan, and Talikote taluks be declared drought-hit.

Officials are taking all necessary steps to include all taluks in the State that have suffered rainfall scarcity, in accordance with the evaluation criteria outlined in the Drought Management Manual 2020. The guidelines require assessment on 11 parameters, including rainfall shortage, humidity, satellite data, and field inspections. Field studies are under way and will be completed by Monday, after which the State government will issue a notification, Mr. Patil said.

“The guidelines mandate 11 criteria including rainfall scarcity, humidity, satellite data and field inspections. Field studies are under way and will be completed by Monday. The State government will issue a notification later. All deserving taluks of Vijayapura are likely to be included,” the Minister said.

Declaring a taluk drought-hit involves several stages. First, eligible taluks are identified through a comprehensive drought assessment, categorised as moderate or severe. This assessment is based on criteria such as a continuous dry spell of three weeks and impact indicators derived from satellite and remote sensing data.

The assessment is then presented to a Cabinet sub-committee chaired by the Deputy Chief Minister. Once the sub-committee approves the list of taluks, a notification is issued to proceed to the next stage: ground truthing, or field verification.

Ground truthing is carried out using the ‘Ground Truthing’ mobile app. Officials from the agriculture, horticulture, and revenue departments conduct a crop loss assessment within four days for survey numbers in villages randomly selected through the app. Based on the ground-truthing report, the taluk is classified as either moderately or severely drought-affected. This classification is then presented to the Cabinet, leading to the issuance of the final drought notification.

In Vijayapura district, the ground-truthing process has been completed for taluks in the first and second batches—Vijayapura, Kolhar, Nidagundi, Basavana Bagewadi, Babaleshwar, and Tikota—and the government has officially declared them as severely drought-affected.

Sindagi, Alamela, Devara Hippargi, and Muddebihal taluks have been notified for ground truthing, and the process is currently under way. The Minister stated that the ground-truthing work for these four taluks would be completed by Monday, after which the government would issue the final notification regarding their status, according to a release.

Drought conditions can severely impact agriculture, drinking water supply, and rural livelihoods. A timely declaration helps authorities mobilise resources for mitigation and relief. A drought declaration is crucial for farmers, as it typically opens the door to relief measures such as compensation for crop losses and other government support. The State government’s decision will be awaited by many in the district.