Karnataka Govt Forms Two Panels To Oversee Cloud Seeding Programme
The committees will work towards ensuring the scientific implementation of cloud seeding operations and their effective execution in areas facing rainfall deficiency
Bengaluru: In view of the below-normal monsoon rainfall across most parts of the state in the current year, the Karnataka government has constituted two separate committees to ensure the smooth implementation, monitoring and technical guidance of the cloud seeding programme.
The programme has been undertaken to address rainfall deficit and drought-like conditions in the state during the year 2026-27, with the objective of providing maximum benefit to standing crops in the State through the appropriate use of advanced technology, officials said.
An order was issued on August 28 for constitution of the two committees --- Monitoring Committee and Technical Advisory and Evaluation Committee for the implementation of the Cloud Seeding Programme during the current year.
The committees will work towards ensuring the scientific implementation of cloud seeding operations and their effective execution in areas facing rainfall deficiency, officials said.
According to a statement issued by the office of Water Resources Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy, the monitoring committee will oversee, monitor and review the overall implementation of the cloud seeding programme.
The Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner of the state government will be the chairperson of the committee. It will have six members and the Managing Director of the Karnataka Irrigation Corporation will be the Member Secretary, it said.
"The members will include the Additional Chief Secretary of the Water Resources Department, Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department (Disaster Management), Secretary of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, Secretary of the Water Resources Department," the minister's office said.
Meanwhile, the Technical Advisory and Evaluation Committee will provide technical support, guidance and advice to the KSNDMC on various aspects of the cloud seeding programme.
The Director of the KSNDMC will be the chairperson of the committee. It will comprise eight members, one Member Secretary and one Special Invitee.
The members will include representatives/directors from the Agriculture Department, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Centre (KSRSAC), and other relevant institutions, the order stated.
According to officials, the project is estimated to cost around Rs 28.52 crore and will be carried out for 60 days, involving approximately 200 hours of operations. Flights will operate between 8 am and 6 pm every day.
Cloud-seeding operations will be undertaken by the Water Resources Department across the state's four revenue divisions. Rainfall is expected within a 15-km radius of the areas where cloud seeding is carried out.
Cloud seeding is a weather-modification technique used to influence precipitation by dispersing substances into clouds, intending to increase rainfall or snowfall, reduce hail or disperse fog.
