Govt Must Take Care Of Agriculture, Lifeline Of Karnataka

Karnataka stands at the eighth place in geographical area and ninth in population in the country.

- Hanamanagouda Belagurki Ex-chairman, Karnataka Agriculture Price Commission

The state has cultivable land of 101 lakh hectares, of which 40 lakh hectares are irrigated. Annually, more than one crop is raised in 21 lakh hectares. The population is around seven crore, of which 60% is rural and 40% urban. Around 80 lakh have agriculture land holding, 90% of whom are small and marginal farmers.

Agriculture crops are grown during kharif, rabi and summer seasons. Agriculture crops are grown in around 80 lakh hectares, while horticulture crops in around 25 lakh hectares, in 10 agricultural zones.

Irrigation in Karnataka Coastal Karnataka receives 4,000 mm of rain with 120 rainy days, while interior Karnataka, 400 mm with 35-40 rainy days.

Krishna and Cauvery basins provide water for multi-purposes, while west-flowing rivers are mainly for electricity generation. The remaining rivers flow for short distances.

The state government has undertaken large, medium and small irrigation projects. Four irrigation corporations - Krishna Jala Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd (KBJNL), Karnataka Niravari Nigam Ltd (KNNL), Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Ltd (VJNL) and Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) - work under the water resource department.

In addition, farmers have installed nearly 30 lakh pumpsets. Totally, 40 lakh hectares irrigation potential has been created, while nearly 60% of agriculture land is rain-fed.

The Cauvery water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT), in its final verdict, allocated 270 tmcft of water to Karnataka, while also ordering the state to release 192 tmcft annually to Tamil Nadu. The Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT-II) allocated 907 tmcft of water to Karnataka in its final verdict which is 273 tmcft more than 734 tmcft allocated by KWDT-I. In all, Karnataka gets 907 tmcft. The height of Almatti dam is to be increased from 519 metre to 524.286 metre.