New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi to discuss drought situation in the state.
Emerging from the meeting, Yadav said that his team apprised the PM of situation and put forth the concerns regarding drought. “We also informed him about the crop damage due to hailstorm,” the CM said.
On reports that Bundelkhand, more than half of which lies in Uttar Pradesh, in the grip of drought, he said, “Water is available in Bundelkhand, dam is hardly 5kms away. We just have to make arrangements for distribution of water.”
When asked about Centre’s offer of water train, he said, “We have demanded 10,000 tankers. Tankers can deliver the water in affected areas fastest, train can't move from village to village distributing water. Both Centre and state government will have to work together to address drought situation, providing help to people is most important.”
Prime Minister also termed his meeting with Yadav very fruitful. “CM Akhilesh Yadav and I discussed the need to effectively utilise the period before monsoon for water recharge and conservation efforts,” he tweeted.
Modi further said, “Usage of latest technology & community participation, particularly of our Nari Shakti can play a key role in effective drought management.”
Apart from taking stock of the situation, Modi also reviewed steps taken by the state government to address drought-related problems. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and officials of concerned ministries were also present at the meeting.
The Prime Minister also issued directions for providing immediate assistance as per a memorandum submitted by the state two days back amid a promise to work with it in dealing with the situation. At the meeting, Modi said the Centre and states have to work together to mitigate the problems faced by the people due to the drought, a PMO statement said.
He also pitched for focus on medium and long term solutions for drought-proofing.
It was noted that the state has submitted a memorandum two days back for assistance for the Rabi 2015-16 season and the Prime Minister directed that the process be completed, and assistance be provided without delay.
The state shared the action plan for revival and restoration of 78,000 water-bodies including tanks, ponds, and farm ponds; one lakh new water-bodies and recharge structures. This is to be achieved by utilizing funds available in schemes such as MNREGA and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, the statement said.
The meeting was told that an amount of Rs 934.32 crore has been released to the state under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), after adjustments of the state balances. This is in addition to Rs 506.25 crore released as central share of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for 2015-16 to the state. A further amount of Rs. 265.87 crore has been released as first instalment of SDRF for 2016-17.
The Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and Karnataka to review drought and water scarcity in the states. The Chief Ministers of the drought-hit states are meeting the Prime Minister separately.
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka are worst hit by the twin problems.
The Centre has already made it clear that while it was doing its bit to provide relief to those affected by the drought, it was for the states themselves to address the situation on the ground.
"The Centre's role is to monitor and the state's role is to provide assistance and help the affected people at ground level," Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh had said in Rajya Sabha recently while replying to a debate on drought.
The Central government does its bit, but all state governments should also do their best in addressing the drought situation, he had said. Singh had insisted that farmers are a priority for the Central government and it was taking adequate measures.
Recently, Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha had directed all the Ministries dealing with the drought situation to release additional funds to the states as soon as the Finance Bill gets approved. This, he said, was necessary as the onset of monsoon is approaching soon.
