Drought: PM in full flow, says link rivers

‘‘This House must decide on linking all rivers. The government has the money, we only need to spend it properly. I invite Soniaji to help us in this endeavour which can change the destiny of the country. After all, how long can river waters be a bone of contention in this country?’’

Rejecting the Opposition charge that states were being discriminated against in the allocation of drought-relief funds, Vajpayee said the Centre was ready to provide Rs 10,000 crore to drought-hit states under the food-for-work programme. Of this, Rs 5,000 crore would be in cash and the remaining component in the form of foodgrains.

He had the House in splits when, while trying to clarify the Centre’s stand, he said, ‘‘The truth is we have gone out of the way to even help states which are paraya (not with us).’’ Recalling Central allocation during the drought of 1987 and contrasting it with the present allocation, Vajpayee admitted that the situation in many states was not satisfactory and schemes were being worked out to help state interests.

‘‘We must desist from politics in such a situation though I am not sure how many can resist this temptation in an election year. The states and Centre must work together. If there’s no cooperation, it will be difficult to tide over the problem.’’

Replying to the debate, Sonia Gandhi welcomed the proposal for linking major rivers. She said her party’s intention while raising the drought issue was not to politicise the matter but to point out ‘‘inadequacies and weaknesses’’ in tackling the situation. ‘‘If it has been mistaken as politicisation of the issue, then I am sorry,’’ she said. When she had initiated the discussion in the morning, she had attacked the Centre for dealing with the situation in a ‘‘most lethargic and insensitive manner.’’

She questioned the Government on why it hadn’t shown ‘‘greater preparedness to meet this contingency.’’ Calling for a legislation which focussed on vulnerable sections like Dalits, tribals, the destitute and infirm, Gandhi said the ‘‘system for allocation must be seen as equitable, fair and transparent.’’

Debunking the Centre’s ‘‘standard refrain’’ that states were not lifting grains, she said Congress chief ministers had told her they had lifted the allotted stocks which were way below what the states had asked for. She said hunger-related death were ‘‘a blot on the country’’ which had surplus grain stocks and it was ‘‘unfortunate that attempts were being made to reap political points.’’

Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh criticised the states for not implementing the crop-insurance scheme despite recurrent drought. He said more Central assistance could be provided for relief and the Rs 2000 crore package announced recently was only a temporary measure. He regretted that states like Rajasthan, which faced three spells of drought in the last four years, had not yet implemented the crop insurance scheme.

Food Minister Sharad Yadav admitted that a Central report on Orissa found that the PDS was not working properly. He said he had asked the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of all chief minister to simplify the process of identifying people who constituted the poverty line.

Rural Development Minister Shanta Kumar, who said it was ‘‘very disturbing’’ to learn of starvation deaths in a country which exports grains to 30 others, picked on Rajasthan to deflect the Opposition charge. The state, he said, had spent only Rs 58 crore on rural development programmes though Rs 667 crore was available. Of Rs 216 crore available for drinking water schemes, the state had spent only Rs 43 crore.

‘‘Why aren’t they spending the money? If rural development programmes are implemented properly, no state government will face unemployment problems,’’ Shanta Kumar said. He said there was no shortage of foodgrains. The House witnessed, for most part of the day, slanging matches between MPs from different states: Congress members countering TDP members from Andhra , BJP hitting back at RJD over the situation in Bihar, Congress locking horns with BJP over the drought in Rajasthan.