Blaming the state government for sending recommendation of declaring 44 districts drought hit very late, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh this would affect the relief operations in the affected regions.
“The Centre has received the recommendation of the Uttar Pradesh government on declaring 44 districts as drought hit. But it came very late and therefore the farmers would get relief late,” Singh told reporters in Gorakhpur on Monday.
He said a team of Central government officials will soon visit the state and the concerned district to assess the situation so that the process for compensation could start. “The process of evaluation would have started by now had we received Government recommendation in time. It is unfortunate that the people would suffer because of the lackadaisical approach of the government, he said.
Singh, who was here to pay condolence to the death of Mahant Awaidhyanath at the Gorakhnath temple, said that the special secretaries of four ministries— Agriculture, Finance, Water resources and Food and civil supply will visit the state to assess the drought situation.
Union minister also criticized the UP government for not fully utilizing the special package given to the state in 2013-14. Against the sanction of Rs 561 crore, the state government could spent only R 434.84 crore so far, he said.
Singh also claimed that the BJP government was committed for the uplift of the farmers of the country and thus have decided a big budget for the sector and would provide health card to over 14 crore farmers in next three years period.