Bengaluru: Karnataka has estimated crop losses of Rs 46,324.5 crore due to the rainfall deficit during the 2026 kharif season, with up to 220 of the state’s 240 taluks likely to be declared drought-affected.

Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G Parameshwara said the government had so far declared 177 taluks drought-affected, while ground-truthing was underway in another 40 taluks.

“In view of the continuing assessment, it is anticipated that more than 220 taluks may ultimately be declared as drought-affected by the end of the South-West Monsoon 2026 season,” Parameshwara said in letters to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

According to the assessment, crop loss has been reported across approximately 47.09 lakh hectares in the 177 drought-affected taluks, with the economic loss estimated at Rs 46,324.5 crore based on the cost of cultivation.

Parameshwara said the assessment was continuing and that the total crop loss during the 2026 kharif season was likely to exceed 55 lakh hectares.

Major agricultural crops affected include tur, maize, cotton, sugarcane, soybean and green gram. Among horticultural crops, onion, arecanut and red chilli have been affected, he said.

“The extensive crop loss has caused severe distress among the farming community and has significantly affected agricultural livelihoods across the state,” Parameshwara said.

An Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) is scheduled to visit Karnataka on October 3 to conduct field-level assessments of the affected areas.

Parameshwara urged Agriculture Minister Chouhan to expedite the drought assessment process to facilitate the timely consideration and release of assistance to affected farmers.

In his letter to Shah, Parameshwara also sought a revision of the norms governing assistance under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

He said the existing input subsidy norms were “substantially inadequate” compared with the prevailing cost of agricultural inputs and covered only a fraction of the losses incurred by farmers.

Parameshwara sought an upward revision of the assistance norms to provide greater financial support to farmers affected by the rainfall deficit.