MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE (SHRI AJIT SINGH)
(a) to (i): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFFERED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO
(i) OF LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. 3 DUE FOR REPLY ON 18TH NOVEMBER, 2002.
(a) to (i): The following States have declared drought:-
Name of the State Area
Andhra Pradesh 925 out of 1126 Mandals in 22 Districts
Chhattisgarh All 16 Districts
Haryana All l9 Districts
Himachal Pradesh All 12 Districts
Jharkhand All 22 Districts
Karnataka 154 Taluks in 24 Districts
Madhya Pradesh 181 Tehsils in 32 Districts
Maharashtra 33 out of 35 Districts
Orissa 283 Blocks in 30 Districts
Punjab All 17 Districts
Rajasthan All 32 Districts
Tamil Nadu 19 Districts (formal declaration not made)
Uttar Pradesh All 70 Districts
Uttaranchal All 13 Districts
West Bengal 3 Districts
Besides, Gujarat has recently declared 13 Districts as drought affected. Jammu &
Kashmir has submitted a memorandum for assistance without declaration of drought while
West Bengal has not sought any assistance.
Widespread drought has affected agricultural production. As per the first advance
estimate, Kharif food-grains including rice, coarse grains, cereals and pulses may be 90.64
MTs as compared to 111.51 MTs during the last year, indicating a shortfall of 18.72%
compared to last year`s production figures.
Central Teams have visited Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh which submitted Memoranda for assistance
from the National Calamity Contingency Fund as per the following details:
(in crores)
State Assistance Demanded
Andhra Pradesh 1210.90
Chhattisgarh 880.66
Haryana 1895.98
Himachal Pradesh 155.86
Jharkhand 1467.25
Karnataka 1562.85
Madhya Pradesh 790.38
Maharashtra 1730.61
Orissa 871.40
Punjab 3529.44
Rajasthan 7519.76
Tamil Nadu 1545.76
Uttaranchal 401.81
Uttar Pradesh 7539.79
Central Team for Jammu & Kashmir will finalise its report after receipt of certain
information sought from the State Government.
The Reports of the Teams have been processed as per the procedure laid down in the
National Calamity Contingency Fund Scheme.
To provide immediate assistance, however, Central Share of the Calamity Relief
Fund (CRF) of the States due in November has been released in August itself.
Demands have also been raised by the States for allocation of food-grains, free of
cost, to generate additional employment. To begin with, 13.25 lakh MTs of food-grains
have been allocated in addition to advance release of Central Share of CRF as per the
following details:
State Foodgrains Advance release of Central Share of CRF (Rs. in crore) (in lakh MTs)
Andhra Pradesh 3.00 81.885
Chhattisgarh 0.50 11.36
Haryana 0.25 33.615
Himachal Pradesh 0.10 17.98
Jharkhand 0.40 -
Karnataka 2.00 30.83
Madhya Pradesh 1.00 25.89
Maharashtra - 64.995
Orissa 1.00 45.26
Punjab - 50.735
Rajasthan 2.00 85.58
Tamil Nadu 0.50 42.435
Uttaranchal 0.50 -
Uttar Pradesh 2.00 60.475
The Commission For Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) in its Supplementary
Report on Price Policy for Kharif crops has recommended one-time bonus (special drought
relief price) ranging from Rs.20 per quintal for paddy, groundnut and cotton to Rs.5 per
quintal for coarse cereals (except bajra). The Commission has also suggested extension of
agricultural input subsidy currently admissible to small and marginal farmers in drought
affected areas to other farmers subject to a limit of 2 hectares irrespective of the size of
holdings, waiver of interest on loans obtained by farmers during 2002, restoration of
fertilizer subsidy to pre-Budget 2002-03 level and removal of distinction between Above
and Below Poverty Line families. While the recommendation on the special drought relief
price has already been approved and announced, the other recommendations are under
consideration.
