Bengaluru, Nov 27 : Responding to farmers' distress after widespread crop loss caused by heavy monsoon rains, the Congress-led Karnataka government on Thursday released an additional Rs 1,033.60 crore as input subsidy to farmers in a single day.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah initiated transfer of the additional compensation amounting to Rs 1,033.60 crore into the bank accounts of 14.24 lakh farmers whose crops were damaged.

CM Siddaramaiah transferred the input subsidy to farmers' bank accounts from his home-office 'Krishna'. Later, addressing a press conference, the Chief Minister said the state government has announced a special package of Rs 1,033.60 crore as additional subsidy for farmers whose crops were damaged due to heavy rains and floods during this yearâ??s monsoon.

He said the state government stands firmly with farmers and, to provide greater support, has increased the rates of input subsidies. Limited to a maximum of two hectares, rainfed crops will now receive Rs 8,500 to Rs 17,000 per hectare, irrigated crops Rs 17,000 to Rs 25,500 per hectare, and perennial crops Rs 22,500 to Rs 31,000 per hectare.

As per the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms, Rs 1,218.03 crore has already been disbursed as input subsidy to 14.24 lakh farmers. In addition, the state government is providing Rs 1,033.60 crore as a top-up. In total, including ongoing payments in the compensation process, Rs 2,251.63 crore will be directly credited to farmersâ?? bank accounts, he said.

â??During the monsoon season, a record 82.56 lakh hectares were sown. However, due to excessive rainfall between June and September, crops across more than 14.58 lakh hectares were damaged, with an estimated loss of Rs 10,748 crore. Major crop losses include tur dal across 5.36 lakh hectares, green gram across 2.63 lakh hectares, cotton across 2.68 lakh hectares, and maize across 1.21 lakh hectares,â?? CM Siddaramaiah stated.

â??Nine districts suffered the highest crop damage. In Dharwad, Gadag and Haveri districts, crops were hit severely by heavy rains just when they were ready for harvest,â?? he added.

â??In the Krishna and Bhima river basin areas, continuous inflow of water caused widespread damage to tur and cotton crops in Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Bidar districts. A joint survey was conducted to accurately assess the crop loss. All data has been entered into the relief software and integrated with the Bhoomi and FRUITS systems,â?? the CM said.

Village-level lists of crop losses were published in village panchayat offices and online. Objections were invited from the public, and after finalising the list of affected farmers, the process of directly transferring input subsidy to farmers was initiated, he said.

The Chief Minister said that on November 17, he met the Prime Minister and requested Rs 614.90 crore under input subsidy and an additional Rs 1,521.67 crore under Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) for recovery and reconstruction to restore damaged infrastructure. The central government has constituted an inter-ministerial team to assess the crop loss, and the team will visit Karnataka soon, CM Siddaramaiah stated.

/IANS