A
10-member Central team undertook a four-day visit to Tamil Nadu to assess
drought conditions in the State. The team, led by Pravesh Sharma, an
Additional Secretary-level officer in the Union Agriculture Ministry, with officials
from other Central departments, including Water Resources and Meteorology. It was
divided into two groups, one commencing the visit from Tiruchi and another from
Madurai
The team held a wrap-up
meeting with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and senior government officers. The
Central team’s visit is in response to a drought memorandum submitted by the
State government recently, demanding about Rs 19,665 crore as compensation for
the losses suffered by the State on account of drought.
Already, the State government
has formulated two relief packages, one for the Cauvery delta districts and the
other for non-delta districts. The package for the delta envisaged a host of
measures, costing around Rs. 2,144 crore and in the case of the non-delta
areas, its estimated cost was Rs. 1,755 crore. Among the important components
of the drought memorandum were the compensation for loss of agricultural
production to the tune of around Rs. 9,286 crore and compensation to the Tamil
Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation – Rs. 2,661 crore and the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee works – Rs. 2,424.5 crore.
The 10-member Central team
headed by Pravesh Sharma which visited the drought-hit areas of Tamil Nadu, hailed
the drought relief measures being implemented by the government headed by Chief
Minister J Jayalalithaa. They said no other State had initiated such steps.
During their wrap-up meeting
with the Chief Minister at the Secretariat, the members of the Central team
said the people were prepared to face the drought thanks to the precautionary
and preventive steps taken by the government. The measures echoed the
responsible manner in which the government had acted.
Sharma said migration of
people due to drought conditions did not happen because of the proper
implementation of the public distribution system, provision of basic amenities
at the village level, the integrated child development scheme and sanitary
facilities. He also appreciated the disbursal of crop loans through cooperative
societies and the activities of the Women’s Self Help Groups.
Thanking the Central team, the
Chief Minister said the State government had taken all steps within its
financial resources. However, to cope with the severe drought, the Centre
should provide Rs. 19,665 crore as financial assistance, as detailed in the
memorandum that the government had submitted. Sharma promised they would convey
the views expressed by the CM to the Central government and that they would
submit their report at the earliest.
Meanwhile, DMK chief M Karunanidhi
urged the Central team currently inspecting drought-hit areas in TN to
recommend a substantial amount as relief package for the State. In a statement,
he said though the drought occurred last year, the team chose to visit only now.
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