BENGALURU: Senior Congress leader and former minister HK Patil has expressed strong displeasure over the functioning of government officials in Karnataka, accusing them of disregarding the Chief Minister’s directions and failing to reflect the ground realities faced by farmers in drought-hit regions.
In a letter to Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Patil alleged that certain officials were openly ignoring the Chief Minister’s instructions and decisions made at high-level meetings. He claimed this approach was causing hardship to farmers and bringing disrepute to the government.
Patil raised particular concerns about the drought situation in North Karnataka, where several districts have reportedly received significantly less rainfall this year. He said rainfall deficiency in several areas had ranged between 40 per cent and 60 per cent, leaving farmers facing severe distress.
According to Patil, rainfall deficiency cannot be assessed solely based on rainfall recorded at monitoring stations. He pointed out that large parts of North Karnataka consist of black cotton soil, locally known as eré land, which has particular water-retention characteristics.
He said heavy rain received on a single day could not necessarily compensate for prolonged rainfall deficiency. In areas with black soil, excessive rain over a short period could cause substantial surface runoff, reducing the moisture retained in agricultural fields.
Patil therefore urged the government to reconsider the existing criteria used for declaring drought-affected taluks and undertake a realistic assessment based on local geographical and agricultural conditions.
He also questioned the reliability of the rainfall data officials in Bengaluru use to assess drought conditions. Patil alleged that deficiencies in rainfall monitoring infrastructure and dependence on what he described as flawed data were resulting in inaccurate assessments.
He further alleged that officials in the Department of Economics and Statistics were not properly implementing the Chief Minister’s directions on crop insurance and agricultural data collection.
According to Patil, officials were overlooking field-level realities faced by farmers because they allegedly relied on their own calculations and parameters instead of following government instructions.
The former minister also referred to decisions taken during meetings chaired by district in-charge ministers. He alleged that officials failed to implement some decisions taken at such meetings despite being directed to do so.
Patil claimed that certain officials were not giving due importance to discussions and decisions taken during meetings chaired by the Chief Minister.
He also raised concerns over delays in communication between government departments. According to him, letters and important information sent to senior officials were sometimes not acted upon for several days.
Patil alleged that officials of the Department of Economics and Statistics were sending communications to offices in Bengaluru through post, resulting in letters taking around 10 days to reach their intended offices. He said such delays could affect the timely assessment of agricultural conditions and delivery of relief measures.
The Congress leader also highlighted the exclusion of 27 taluks from the drought-hit list despite what he described as severe rainfall deficiency.
He said 73 taluks in the Kittur Karnataka region had been assessed for drought conditions, but 27 were not included in the drought-affected list despite significant rainfall shortages.
Patil urged the government to conduct a fresh, ground-level assessment of these taluks and consider declaring all genuinely affected areas drought-hit.
He said farmers should not be denied relief merely because official data did not adequately capture ground conditions.
The former minister’s intervention comes amid continuing discussions within the state administration over drought declaration and relief measures. The government has been assessing rainfall patterns, crop conditions and other indicators before finalising the list of drought-affected areas.
Patil called for immediate corrective action against what he described as an “anti-farmer” approach among sections of the bureaucracy. He said government officials must follow the decisions and directions issued by elected governments and ensure that administrative procedures do not become an obstacle to farmers seeking relief.
He also urged Shivakumar to personally review the complaints raised in his letter and ensure the drought assessment process is based on factual field conditions rather than departmental calculations alone.
Patil said the government should consider rainfall distribution, soil characteristics, crop conditions, and actual moisture availability when deciding whether a taluk qualifies for drought status.
He appealed to the Chief Minister to intervene and ensure that all affected taluks, particularly those in North Karnataka, receive a fair assessment and appropriate relief.
The former minister also threatened to quit from MLAs post if demands are not met by October 10 next. Addressing farmers at Mulugund, he said he is committed to supporting farmers, the backbone of the country.
