CENTRE
ANNOUNCES SEVERAL MEASURES TO TACKLE THE DRY SPELL IN THE COUNTRY
The meeting of the Agriculture and Relief Ministers
of twelve States with Union Agriculture Minister Shri Ajit Singh
here today reviewed the situation arising out of weak monsoon
and its implications on agriculture and allied sectors.
The current scenario indicates loss in
productivity in may areas although its actual magnitude will be
available only in the second half of August as considerable retrieval
will be possible wherever rains occur. It was agreed that in the
meantime, all out efforts need to be mounted to go in for retrieval
operations and sowing of early maturing and drought resistant
varieties in as large an area as possible. It was also noted that
efforts are already underway to resort to alternative crops based
on local conditions and past experience of farming communities.
Shri Ajit Singh assured the participants of availability of inputs
like seeds and fertilizers and other assistance needed by the
State Government. He also underscored the need to initiate urgent
and definite steps to tackle the situation in right earnest. He
stressed the need to clear dues of farmers and mentioned that
the present problems are more likely to affect producers rather
than consumers as the availability of food-grains and foreign
exchange should ensure that the price-line is guarded.
Augmentation of, fodder and drinking
water supply were identified as other areas needing attention
of all concerned. Special attention also needs to be focused on
smooth running of the Public Distribution System. It was also
decided that States would asses on priority basis the extent of
additional employment generation required and to also prepare
a shelf project to speedily put it in operation should the need
arise. The need to keep utmost vigil on the price front was also
appreciated. The general feeling was that the coming months would
test the capabilities of States and Central Government in tiding
over the problems.
The following specific decisions were taken:
(i)
Agricultural input subsidy available to small and marginal farmers
in the event of damage to crops will be available to other categories
also.
(ii)
Subsidy admissible for certified seeds will also be available
for truthfully labelled seeds during the current season in the
affected States.
(iii)
States will firm up their arrangements for allocation of free
food-grains for additional employment generation for which the
initial estimated demand is 41 lakh MTs.
(iv)
States will mobilize resources to meet the cash component for
employment generation from their own resources meeting shortfalls,
if any, from Relief Funds.
(v)
There will be an immediate updating of contingency plans and these
will be put in operation if not already done.
(vi)
Relaxation of last date prescribed under the National Agricultural
Insurance Scheme will be examined on a case-to-case basis.
(vii)
NABARD and cooperative financing institutions will also be urged
to review their existing policies of recovery from State Governments
and other borrowers in the affected areas keeping in view the
current scenario.
It was the consensus in
the meeting that while the current scenario gives cause for concern,
given the contingent arrangements made by the States and Centre
and successful track record of established good practices in drought
management, there is no need for alarm. It was unanimously agreed
that the situation warrants close coordination between the Central
and State Governments to attend to an emergent situation. It was
also the consensus that with the resources at their disposal,
Governments are in a position to forestall development of serious
distress. It was agreed that there will be constant interaction
in managing the situation with highest priority being given to
mitigate hardship of common people.
The Agriculture and Relief Ministers
who attended the meeting were from Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa,
Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra & Uttar Pradesh.
