Ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Modi Government has approved a package of Rs 7,214.03 crore to six States and one Union Territory that were affected by natural disasters such as drought, floods, cloudburst, landslides and cyclone during 2018-19.
Of the total, Rs 6,691.77 crore will be given as Central assistance to four droughts hit States — Maharashtra Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka — for Kharif season. The package was announced after high-level inter-ministerial team visited drought States to assess the damage.
Maharashtra will get Rs 4714.28 crore, Karnataka Rs 949.49 crore, Andhra Pradesh Rs 900.40 crore, and Gujarat Rs 127.60 crore. Interestingly, Governments of Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal too have declared drought during kharif 2018, but they have not submitted any memorandum to the Centre. Even a large chunk of Uttar Pradesh received 40 per cent deficit monsoon but the State has not declared drought. West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh contribute more than one-fourth of India’s rice production.
The Centre has also decided to release Rs 522. 17 crore as package for natural disasters which include Rs 317.44 crore to Himachal Pradesh for floods and landslides, Rs 191.73 crore to Uttar Pradesh for floods, and Rs 13.09 crore to Puducherry for cyclone.
The decision was taken by a high-level committee chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and will cater to the needs of those States that have faced floods, landslides, drought, cloudburst and cyclone. The drought package will help the State Government as well as farmers.
According to a new manual on drought management issued by the Agriculture Ministry in December 2016, the Centre provides funds to State Governments in case of “severe” drought, not “mild”. Since the yardstick to measure the severity of drought is stricter, the new conditions make it more difficult for the States to prove “severe” drought and get relief from the Centre.
As per data, as many as 1.95 crore hectare in 97 districts of six States — Maharashtra, (26 districts) Karnataka (24 districts), Andhra Pradesh (9 districts), Gujarat (11 districts), Jharkhand (18 districts) Rajasthan and Odisha (9 districts each) — are facing drought this year. As per India Meteorological Department (IMD), 252 of the 681 districts across the country have faced deficient rainfall this year.
Officials of Agriculture Ministry said Maharashtra has sought of Rs 7,962.63crore from the Centre and a proposal to this effect had been submitted to the Prime Minister Office.
As per the Maharashtra Government documents, as many as 151 tehsils of Maharashtra spread over 26 districts are drought hit. A majority of the drought-affected tehsils are located in the dry-land regions of Marathwada, Vidarbha and some western parts of the State. The severity of the drought is worst in Maharashtra with an area of 85.76 lakh hectares, which is 44 per cent of the total affected area, in the State. This will have a direct impact on over 82 lakh farmers in Maharashtra.
In Karnataka, the official said as many as 37.12 lakh hectare of agricultural land spread in 24 districts are affected from drought during the kharif season. It had sought Rs 2,434 crore as compensation from the Centre to tackle drought.
Similarly, with 13.61 lakh hectare spread in 9 districts were reported droughts in Andhra Pradesh. The State Government had sought Rs 1,401 crore from the Centre while Gujarat had asked Rs 1,717.54 crore as 11 districts are reported with drought situation this year during kharif season.
In Gujarat, the rain deficiency in Devbhoomi Dwarka recorded 42 per cent; Jamnagar 29 per cent; Kachchh 62 per cent; Morbi 51 per cent; Porbandar 28 and Rajkot 30 per cent in Saurashtra and Kutch sub division. Similarly, rain deficiency in Ananthapur, Chittoor, Cuddapah and Kurnool in Rayalseema recorded 33 percent, 41 per cent, 60 per cent and 46 per cent respectively.
During 2018-19, State Governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Rajasthan submitted memorandums in the wake of drought during kharif. Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) have been consisted to visit all these drought-affected States to assess the damage and recommend financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund. Per the existing procedure, the report/recommendations of the IMCT are placed before the Sub-Committee of the National Executive Committee (SC-NEC). Therefore, the recommendations of the SC-NEC are considered by the High Level Committee and, accordingly, aid is provided to the States. The Odisha Government also declared drought during kharif 2018, but it has not submitted any memorandum to the Centre.