(a) the criteria laid down for granting relief to the drought affected States;
(b) whether certain areas are affected by drought in the country this year;
(c) the extent of loss suffered by each State as a result thereof;
(d) the assistance and foodgrains sought by each State; and
(e) the amount released and foodgrains provided to overcome the problem, State-wise?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE (SHRI KANTI LAL BHURIA)
(a) to (e): There is ready availability of funds with the States under Calamity Relief
Fund (CRF), to enable the States to take immediate relief measures in the wake of natural
calamities including drought. For calamities of severe nature, where the availability
of funds in the CRF is insufficient to tackle the situation, additional assistance,
over and above CRF, is considered from the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF),
in accordance with an established procedure.
This year, taking into account the deficiency of rainfall during South-West Monsoon
2006, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland,
Rajasthan and West Bengal reported drought/drought-like situation of varying magnitude.
The Government of Karnataka had submitted a revised Memorandum seeking assistance of
Rs.1262.95 crores from the NCCF and 5.74 lakh MTs of foodgrains for relief employment, in
the wake of drought. This was considered by the High Level Committee (HLC) and the HLC
approved Rs.74.48 crores from the NCCF (subject to adjustment of 75% of available balances
in the CRF of the State) and one lakh MTs of rice, under the special component of Sampoorna
Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY), for relief employment. 50,000 MTs of rice has already been
released to the State and the balance will be released on receipt of utilization of
initial 50,000 MTs. This is subject to review depending upon the actual utilization
by the State Government.
In response to the Memorandum submitted by the Government of Andhra Pradesh seeking
assistance of Rs.536.06 crores from the NCCF in the wake of drought, an Inter-Ministerial
Central Team visited the State recently for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.
Further action will be taken in accordance with the established procedure.
The Government of Rajasthan have requested for allocation of 5.04 lakh MTs of wheat for taking
up drought relief works during January to June, 2007. The request of the State Government
is under consideration.
No other State has so far submitted any Memorandum seeking Central assistance for
current drought.