With the state suffering losses due to natural disasters caused by climate change on an almost annual basis, the Karnataka State Disaster Risk Reduction Road Map 2025-2030 has recommended developing insurance to protect residents and cover damages to major infrastructure projects caused by natural disasters.
The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) launched the road map Monday with technical support from UNICEF. It suggested developing “disaster insurance mechanisms” for house-owners in disaster-prone areas, “parametric insurance” for weather and climate-related disasters, and “insurance products to cover major infrastructure projects”.
It noted that between 2015 and 2021, Karnataka suffered losses amounting to Rs 1.22 lakh cr due to natural disasters such as floods and droughts. The damages were due to losses suffered by agricultural and horticultural crops, as well as damages to water and sanitation projects, drinking water projects, and public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and government buildings.
While losses to crops contributed a lion’s share of the total, losses due to damage to houses was 11,324 crore, whereas damages to roads and bridges totalled around Rs 20,000 cr, according to the document accessed by indianexpress.com.
It noted that 24 of the 30 districts (Vijayanagar, formed in 2021, was omitted) faced droughts in 12 or more of the 22 years between 2002 and 2022, and 19 of the 30 districts faced floods in eight or more years during the period.
Among the proposals is the formation of an advisory body for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) to accelerate the implementation of policy measures aimed at reducing damage during natural disasters. The development of a technology-enabled platform for the purpose is also under the ambit of DRR.
The major focus of the DRR roadmap will be the first three targets – Reducing mortality, reducing casualties, affected population and economic losses, the road map said. Its objectives include transforming disaster response from relief-centric to resilience-building.