Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara has directed officials to provide more local employment under the VB G Ramji scheme and pay drought-relief wages within a week, warning that officers would be held responsible for delays. He issued the instruction during a drought review meeting for Koppal and Raichur districts on Thursday.
Parameshwara said wage payments should not remain pending after employment days had been generated. He warned that delayed payments could force young people to migrate while leaving elderly family members behind, and instructed officials to prevent distress migration from drought-affected areas.
The directive places wage payment at the centre of the state’s immediate drought response. For rural households with limited income options, access to locally available work and timely payment determines whether employment assistance functions as a practical support measure during a crop and water crisis.
According to the report by Prajavani, the deputy chief minister said officials must create employment locally on a larger scale under the scheme because of the severity of the drought. He also said he would personally monitor the implementation of the wage-payment instruction.
Parameshwara asked officials to send proposals quickly when funds were required and said money would be released without delay once the proposals were received. The statement indicates that the administration is linking the pace of local employment generation to the movement of funds between the state government and field-level authorities.
Drinking water was another major focus of the review. Parameshwara said ₹1 crore had already been provided to every Assembly constituency for drinking-water arrangements and that an additional ₹1 crore would be released. He identified drinking water, fodder, preventing migration and ensuring adequate electricity supply as priorities for officials.
The allocation announced in the meeting is intended to support local responses to water stress across constituencies. The report does not specify the total amount to be released statewide, the number of households seeking work, or the number of pending wage claims in Koppal and Raichur.
The meeting also brought a demand for greater central assistance into the drought response. Parameshwara said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should provide the state with the maximum possible drought relief and warned that the state government would approach the people if such assistance was not provided. The report does not provide details of the amount sought from the Union government or the status of any related request.
For district administrations, the immediate tasks outlined at the meeting are to generate employment, clear wages within seven days, arrange drinking water and fodder, limit distress migration and maintain electricity supply. The deputy chief minister’s warning makes payment delays an administrative responsibility rather than only a financial processing issue.
Officials are expected to act on proposals for funds and implement the drought-response priorities identified for Koppal and Raichur. Parameshwara said he would monitor the wage-payment process personally.
