Source: Hueiyen News Service
New Delhi, August 13, 2009:
High-level inter-ministerial teams from the Centre are likely to visit drought-affected Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Manipur next week.
All these states have submitted their detailed memoranda about the drought situation and have sought assistance from the Union Government.
"We have received memoranda for assistance from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Manipur for relief operations in their drought-affected regions.
We are in the process of constituting high-level inter-ministerial teams for assessing the situation on the ground.
The teams are likely to visit these states next week," Agriculture Commissioner N B Singh told The Indian Express on Wednesday.
The move comes after last week�s meeting of chief secretaries of states where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed disappointment that the states had not sent in their detailed memoranda or assistance despite declaring drought.
"In case the Contingency Relief Fund available with the states is not sufficient, they should quickly prepare a detailed memorandum for assistance under the National Calamity Contingency Fund.
I am told that no state has so far sent its memorandum seeking assistance for drought-affected districts, even though 141 districts in the country have been declared as drought-affected," Manmohan Singh had told the chief secretaries asking them to immediately commence relief operations in the affected districts.
The number of drought-affected districts since then has gone up to 167 after Bihar also declared 26 districts as drought-hit.
As per established procedures, the central teams will asses the level and type of damages to finalise Central assistance.
The recommendations of the central teams will be sent to a committee headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and also comprising Home Minister P Chidambaram, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission for final approval before release of funds.
Meanwhile, a drought management cell has been established in the Ministry of Agriculture, which is interacting with the affected states on a daily basis.