Question : Drought Assistance

(a) the total cultivable land area in the country, State-wise;

(b) the details of the districts in various States of the country including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand which are declared drought affected, State-wise;

(c) the number of farmers who committed suicide due to drought in various States of the country, the details thereof, State-wise;

(d) whether the Government has received any suggestions from these States to deal with the problem of drought, if so, the details thereof, State-wise along with the response of the Government thereto; and

(e) whether the Government is considering to grant any special package to mitigate the situation arising out of the deficit rainfall/weak monsoon in various States of the country, if so, the details thereof along with the funds allocated and released by the Government to various States of the country during the last three years and the current year, State-wise?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

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(a): As per the latest data available on land use statistics, State-wise details of cultivable land (agricultural land) in the country for the year 2014-15 is given at Annexure I.

(b): During 2017-18, the State Governments of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan had declared drought in 21 districts, 18 districts and 13 districts respectively. They had submitted Memoranda seeking assistance from National Disaster Response Fund for drought relief, details of which are indicated below:


State No. of districts declared
as drought affected Assistance sought
from NDRF Assistance approved by
Government of India (GoI)
Chhattisgarh 21 4401.00 395.31
Madhya Pradesh 18 3705.95 836.09
Rajasthan 13 3078.26 *
* Under consideration
Contd…2/-


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During 2017-18, the State Government of Odisha has intimated that it has declared drought in 15 districts. No other State has so far intimated regarding declaration of drought during 2017-18.

(c): The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) under the Ministry of Home Affairs compiles and disseminates information on suicides, in its publication titled ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India’ (ADSI). These Reports on suicides upto 2015 are available at its website. The Report for the year 2016 has not been published yet. The State wise details of suicides in farming/ agriculture sector during the years 2014 and 2015 as per NCRB Report may be seen at Annexure-II. Further, as per this Report, ‘Bankruptcy or Indebtedness’ and ‘Farming Related Issues’ are reported as major causes of suicides among farmers/ cultivators. Other prominent causes of farmers/cultivators suicides are family problems, illness etc.

(d) & (e): Government has received detailed memorandum for drought relief from the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan indicating the requirement of funds. Government of Odisha has provided funds from State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for disbursement towards Agriculture Input Subsidy to the affected farmers as per the existing guidelines.

Government provides assistance to the states to mitigate the situation arising out of the drought/deficit rainfall/weak monsoon in various States of the country. State-wise details of assistance sought and approved (by Government of India) from NDRF during the last three years and the current year i.e. 2014-15 to 2017-18 (so far) for drought and hailstorm, is at Annexure-III.