CM demands Rs 1548 cr for drought-hit areas

Bhopal, Jan 23: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met the Prime Minister Manmohan at his office in New Delhi on Tuesday. The Chief Minister submitted a memorandum to Pawar asking for a sum of Rs 1541 crores to tackle the drought affected regions of the state. He also requested for a package of Rs 22,250 crores as a special development programme to deal with drought in the long term.

Chouhan informed that out of 48 districts, 157 tahsils of 37 districts were severely drought affected. The Bundelkhand region was reeling under severe drought for the last three years. The Gwalior and Rewa divisions too were under the grip of drought. Agricultural production was also badly affected in these regions. In Bundelkhand only 30 percent of the Rabi crop had been sown. Cattle fodder too had become scarce. Wells too had dried up in several parts of the state.

Earlier, Chouhan urged the Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to allot APL wheat in large quantities. He also drew attention to the poor quality of the wheat being imported and distributed in the state which is reddish in colour. He also wanted the support price of wheat to be increased from the present Rs 1000. Chouhan urged the Agriculture Minister to buy wheat at market prices so that the people of the state were supplied better quality wheat.

Pawar promised all possible help from the Centre and said that a central team would visit the state in the first week of February undertake a survey of the drought affected regions. Chouhan was accompanied by the state Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Akhand Pratap Singh, Secretary to Chief Minister Anurag Jain and Special Commissioner in the MP Government Ms Vijaya Shrivastava, amongst others.