Bengaluru, 5 October

Severe drought in Karnataka and resultant crop losses are likely to impact the state's GST collection, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said on Monday.

Estimating the economic loss due to the prevailing weather conditions at around Rs 46,000 crore, Parameshwara, who also holds the Revenue portfolio, said the state has sought around Rs 10,000-11,000 crore in drought relief from the Centre.

"Karnataka is facing a drought of a severity not seen before. Its impact will certainly be felt across sectors, including GST collection," he told reporters here.

Karnataka has consistently ranked second in the country for GST collection and has presented its position at GST council meetings, he said.

"The state is now facing drought and crop losses. This will impact all sectors. Financial experts have already indicated that GST collections may naturally decline as a result," Parameshwara said.

The extent of the impact will become clear in the coming days, he said, adding that the government had maintained the necessary financial buffer and was also examining measures to improve GST collection.

On the drought situation, the Deputy CM said Central teams were visiting the state from October 3 to 6 to assess conditions in the 101 taluks declared drought-hit in the first phase.

The teams have also been asked to visit the remaining 77 more taluks declared drought-affected in the second phase.

"The CM and I received the Central team and briefed them on the drought situation in the state. We also requested them to visit and assess the remaining 77 taluks," he said.

Members of the Central teams have interacted with farmers and visited agricultural fields in several districts to assess the ground situation, he said.

The teams are expected to complete their assessment by Monday or Tuesday and submit their report to the Union government, following which a decision on Karnataka's relief demand would be taken, Parameshwara said.

Around Rs 46,000 crore in losses have been estimated across the 177 drought-hit taluks, he said.

"We have sought around Rs 10,000-11,000 crore in relief and have also placed this request before the Central team," Parameshwara said.

The chief minister and he were also considering leading a delegation to the Centre after submission of the final memorandum to demand for drought relief, he added.

Regarding cash incentives for sportspersons, in the wake of the recently concluded Asian Games, Parameshwara, who also holds the Sports portfolio, said Karnataka was reviewing its awards in comparison with those offered by other states.

The revised cash awards will be announced on Tuesday after discussions with Chief Minister Shivakumar, he said.

The Deputy CM said he had personally spoken to athlete Poovamma after her return from Japan and had also interacted with several other sportspersons.

"We have obtained information regarding higher awards being offered in other states and reviewed it. I have already discussed with the chief minister the need to revise the cash awards in Karnataka as well," he said.

On the alleged misuse of Form 7 applications during the electoral roll revision, Parameshwara said the state government submitted a complaint to the Election Commission along with evidence and demanded FIRs against those allegedly involved.

"We have submitted a complaint with evidence. We caught the misuse of Form 7 red-handed and placed the evidence before the Commission," he said.

He questioned how an individual could submit hundreds of Form 7 applications seeking deletion of names from electoral rolls.

"How can one individual submit 100, 200 or 400 applications?" he asked.

Parameshwara alleged that voter details were obtained and entered on pre-printed forms, which were then submitted for deletion of names.

The EC said that it will issue notices to those concerned, giving them seven days to respond, after which FIRs would be registered, he said.

"They (EC) must follow through on this. FIRs should be registered against the persons we have identified and taken to their notice," Parameshwara said.

Regarding the recent increase in charges for certain Revenue Department services, the Deputy CM said some fees had been marginally revised in view of the rising cost of living and the need to strengthen the state's revenue sources.

"When there is a shortfall in funds due to the state from the Union government, it becomes necessary for the state government to strengthen its own revenue sources," he said.