M A I N   N E W S

Pawar-led EGoM on drought doles out Rs 1,900 cr to states; diesel sop for farmers
Vibha Sharma/TNS

New Delhi, July 31
Punjab and Haryana’s specific demands for extra power and immediate interim relief for the prevailing drought-like situation in the two states has gone unheeded, at least for now. The Empowered Group of Ministers headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, which met today to decide upon the relief measures to tackle drought-like situation, granted diesel subsidy of 50 per cent for farmers with up to two-hectare holdings and an interim relief package of around Rs 1,900 crore to states.

The subsidy on diesel would be shared equally by the Centre and states and capped at Rs 750 per hectare. The monetary aid includes Rs 1,440 crore to Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat under Integrated Watershed Management Programme.

Another Rs 453 crore was granted to Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Haryana and additional Rs 38 crore to Karnataka, Rajasthan and Maharashtra for drinking water to drought-affected areas. The amount includes Rs 24 crore for Haryana under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).

However, Punjab and Haryana’s demands for interim monetary packages plus 1,000 MW additional allocation were not even discussed today. Pawar specifically told The Tribune: “Today, the priority was different. We will meet again to discuss requirements of the states.”

Ministry officials said the Centre may follow the 2009 pattern for the two states. The Centre had given Rs 800 crore to Punjab and Rs 400 crore to Haryana in 2010 as relief package for kharif in 2009, which was declared a drought year. “But for that, they have to give details of affected areas. Unless we discuss the details of the areas affected, no decision can be taken,” Pawar said.

While Punjab and Haryana may land monetary help, they can forget about getting any more extra power from the Central pool. Under flak for drawing more power from the grid than their allocated quota, the two key producers are also getting an additional 300 MW each out of the unallocated power quota for the ongoing sowing season. In fact, the 300 MW unallocated power being given to Punjab, Haryana and UP, each represented about 75% of the total unallocated power available for the northern region. As many as 306 districts have received deficient rains and 94 districts got scanty rainfall out of 627 districts. The June-September monsoon rains have been 21 per cent below average so far.

Relief Package

• Diesel subsidy of 50 per cent would be given to farmers with up to 2-hectare holdings
• Punjab and Haryana’s demands for extra power and immediate interim relief for the prevailing drought-like situation in the two states were not on the meeting’s agenda