The State has sought a revised drought-relief assistance of Rs. 1,884 crore from the Centre.
The revised claim was presented before a Central team which arrived here on Tuesday to start field trips to assess the drought situation in various districts.
The State revised its earlier claim for Rs. 1,468 crore after taking into account the additional loss sustained by the Kerala State Electricity Board from poor rainfall.
The power sector sought the highest support of Rs. 1,610.9 crore followed by agriculture (Rs. 212 crore), irrigation (Rs. 9.982 crore), health (Rs. 5 crore) and piped water supply (Rs. 2.76 crore). The groundwater sector requires Rs. 16.43 lakh and the animal husbandry sector Rs. 7.7 lakh. The district administrations have sought Rs. 33.61 crore for supplying drinking water in tanker lorries.
Presenting the case of the State before the team, K.B. Valsalakumari, Principal Secretary, Revenue, said the power deficit was of 1,610.9 million units (mu). The State had targeted generation of 6,993 mu of power from its hydel stations this year, but only 5,382.1 mu could be realised. The State might have to buy power from thermal stations at the rate of Rs. 10 a unit, which would incur an expense of Rs. 1,610.9 crore.
The State had earlier declared four districts drought-affected. Now Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta too are on the verge of drought, she said.
Sowing of crops has been delayed, and weed growth in the fields has been excessive. The crop area has shrunk and the anticipated loss of yield will be around 25 per cent. With a rainfall deviation from 20 per cent to 50 per cent, the yield of coconut may go down by 40 per cent. The impact of the dry spell will manifest in the form of a reduced nut yield for up to three years.
She said the projected yield loss for pepper was 29 per cent. Poor pollination and disrupted berry setting in the vines would worsen things for the pepper farmers.
The coffee sector might witness a loss of yield by up to 51 per cent. The quality and quantity of banana bunches had fallen in the arid conditions. The reduced availability of water for the plants during bunching time was to blame.
Vegetable production would be hit hard, with the estimated crop loss being around 80 per cent. Replanting of rubber was affected, and reports anticipated a 20 per cent reduction in the latex yield.
In the health sector, the State highlighted the threat of cholera in the coastal areas of Thiruvananthapuram district. Ten cases with symptoms of cholera had been reported. The disease was primarily caused by a lack of clean drinking water, the representation submitted before the Central team said.
Itinerary
The Central team led by Narendra Bhushan will visit Wayanad on Wednesday. Idukki will also be covered in the first leg of the tour. On its return trip, the team will assess the drought situation in Kollam and Idukki districts. The delegation will hold discussions with the Chief Minister and the Revenue Minister in Thiruvananthapuram on October 19.
