Photo composite: Dinesh Gooligowda (file photograph) and H.K. Patil (photo: @HKPatilINC/X).
Bengaluru: Congress MLC Dinesh Gooligowda has urged Gadag MLA and former minister H.K. Patil to reconsider his proposal to resign, defending the Karnataka government’s drought assessment process and saying that affected taluks would be reviewed in phases.
In a letter dated September 21, Gooligowda, who is also vice-chairperson of the Karnataka State Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority, said he was saddened by Patil’s remarks about resigning from the Assembly over dissatisfaction with government policy decisions.
Gooligowda acknowledged Patil’s concern for farmers and the people of Gadag. He said the government was not pursuing a political or discriminatory approach while identifying drought-affected areas and had to follow the criteria prescribed by the Centre.
The letter cited rainfall deficiency, prolonged dry spells, rainfall intensity and distribution, crop damage, the area under sowing, vegetation conditions, groundwater levels and reservoir availability as factors in the assessment. Gooligowda said drought declarations were based on prescribed guidelines, scientific parameters and field-survey information.
He rejected the suggestion that Gadag was being excluded while Mandya or another district was being favoured. The assessment would be examined under the applicable relief norms, he said, adding that assistance would be provided to areas where drought conditions had arisen.
The list of drought-affected taluks would be revised in phases, with the remaining taluks also being examined, Gooligowda wrote. Officials had already submitted a report on drought conditions in Gadag taluk, and the government would take action in accordance with the relevant criteria, he said.
Gooligowda said protecting farmers’ interests remained the priority and asked Patil to guide the government in finding solutions. He appealed to the senior Congress leader to set aside the resignation proposal and work with the government during the difficult period.
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