246 districts in 10 states drought-hit: Pawar

NEW DELHI: Food and agriculture minister on Wednesday said that 246 districts in 10 states have been declared drought hit.


He earlier informed that rice production may slump by 10 million tonnes this Kharif season as drought has plagued over one-third of the country, prompting the government to boost the public distribution system and intervene in the market to curb price rise.

"Shortfall in monsoon may result in a shortfall in area coverage of paddy by about 5.7 million hectares compared with last year and the production of rice may be reduced by 10 million tonnes," Sharad Pawar said, addressing food ministers of states.

India produced 99.15 million tonnes of rice in 2008-09, including 84.58 million tonnes during the last Kharif.

The minister observed that the dip in the Kharif output of rice might trigger an upward spiral of foodgrain prices and conveyed the Centre's action plan to counter a rise in rates.

"If required, the government would not hesitate to undertake open market intervention and release of wheat and rice under the open market sale scheme," Pawar said.

This means the government may buy more to build adequate reserves and strengthen the PDS for any contingency. And, Pawar asked states to ensure the purchase of at least half of the total rice procured by private millers for the PDS.

Also, Pawar expected some shortfall in the output of oilseeds and sugarcane due to poor monsoon, which has brought 29 per cent less than the normal rainfall in the country.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the state is going to witness the worst drought of the century due to the scanty rainfall in as many as 37 districts following which it has declared them drought-affected.

"Due to scanty rainfall, as many as 37 districts of the state were declared drought-affected," Chouhan told reporters yesterday.

The districts which were declared drought-affected are Alirajpur, Ashok Nagar, Anuppur, Barwani, Bhind, Balaghat, Burhanpur, Chhatarpur, Dewas, Dindori, Datia, Damoh, Guna, Gwalior, Jhabua, Jabalpur, Katni, Khandwa, Morena, Mandla, Narsinghpur, Panna, Ratlam, Raisen, Rewa, Satna, Sidhi, Singrauli, Shahdol, Sagar, Sehore, Shivpuri, Sheopur Kalan, Shajapur, Tikamgarh, Umaria and Vidisha.

Chouhan said that he has requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to send a study team to assess the drought situation.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com